Guns in parks legislation likely to pass

I generally don't like it when legislators attach unrelated amendments to bills. But I will be glad to see this one go through (if it does) after the underhanded way the Bush rule was overruled and not defended by the current administration.

Sure ... a little hypocritical ... but this is righting a wrong vs. plowing new ground.

I've posted several times on the idea that pro-gunners need to start fighting dirty, and got a highfalutin "we don't do things like that, we always work within the system ethically."

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=399138

Good to see that other politicians are not so shortsighted.

It gives me great pleasure to read such articles in the New York Times.

This was going to pass because the democrats know and know very well how much ammo and guns have been selling. Many first time buyers are in the numbers of record breaking sales. This bill will pass and is only being done as a game to hold control for the mid-term elections next year. Or give folks a false feeling that the country will still be working next year!

Fantastic.

This is kind of an interestig issue. I wrote my Senator (Hatch) about this years ago, and he insisted that it was best to leave it up to the Park Service. I kept writing him about how Congress was in charge and not Park Service beurocrats, but he seemed to thing Congress should defer to regulatory agencies just like courts do. He seemed confused about his role in the constitutional scheme.

The Viginia CDL pushed the issue, but for the most part got stonewalled by the NPS. Their effort did not get much support from the larger gun community. The NPS regs banned guns in a huge area, larger than all but a few states, but it always surprised me how little enthusiasm there was among the gun enthusiasts for this issue. On internet bulletin boards there would be huge paranoid threads about new assault weapon bans, but the NPS total ban on guns would garner little interest. Is a ban on flash supressors and bayonet lugs really a bigger deal than a complete ban on guns on 13 million acres of public land? I guess so.

But the VA CDL continued their efforts. Fairly late in the game the NRA stumbled into the issue (were they afraid the CDL was going to get the credit?), and suddenly a majority of the Senate wanted the rules changed. I guess Hatch thinks it is more important to defer to the NRA than the NPS. In order to head off Congressional action, the NPS initiated their last minute rule change. Everybody was happy; the CDL got the rule change and the NRA got the credit. The NPS of course was happy because they got a pretty restrictive rule and they made the new rule in such a way that it would be throw out by the courts. By the time we figured that out, Obama would be President.

Fortunately Coburn and the NRA continued to push the issue, and Congressional fear of the 'gun lobby' did the rest. As a result we get a very liberal new law, much better than the proposed regulations, and it can't be changed in the future by the NPS beurocrats.

It really is wonderful seeing Congress cower before a group of concerned citizens. Its too bad the rest of our rights do not have their own NRA.

SGD said:

"...Coburn and the NRA continued to push the issue..."

But ... but ... a recent email on this subject from Gun Owners of America claimed "GOA has been the lone voice fighting for this gun ban repeal on Capitol Hill."

;-)

Does anyone ever read and understand the bill of rights? Where is the controversy there?

Doesn't anyone understand the Constitution?

The federal government has NO AUTHORITY to have national parks, national monuments, BLM land within the borders of any state.

Ours is NOT a sovereign government that has all powers not restricted. Ours is a government of delegated powers. The ONLY authority to own land is through the purchase of land with the permission of the legislature of the state wherein the land lies AND then ONLY for the "erection of needful buildings".

There is no legal/constitutional eminent domain at the federal level. There is no grant to hold land as land except under the category of territory. The feds cannot constitutionally require states to give up land within state borders in order to join the Union. That violates the concept of equality since the first members did not have the same constraints on membership.

This legislation is all BS. What should have been passed is a return of all stolen lands to the state in which the land lies.

Draw your line. Death before dishonor.

Tiochfaidh ar la!

I haven't really looked at the issue of constitutionality of national parks like you have, but taking those lands back to the states isn't even on the radar right now and the reality is the parks exist and taking a firearm into them can get you arrested. And I don't want to be the test case who's freedom is based either on the entire NPS system being declared unconstitutional or my fellow firearms owners rising up in armed rebellion to end the National Park System.

So ... this bill will make our lives easier. And since national parks/national monuments are very popular amongst the American people, I doubt an anti-NPS militia is going to get a lot of traction.

I haven't looked into the situation, but National Parks were created better than 100 years ago when the Federal government still cared about the constitution and states rights. I've gotta think they had some theory as to how they would be legal, just like they did back in '34 with the first Firearms laws -- which was a tax law, not a ban.

Of course now the Feds just assume they can pass any law/gun ban they want because they're the feds, but it didn't used to be that way. Back then when they wanted to outlaw something (such as booze) they actually passed an amendment rather than just a law with a smoke-and-mirrors relationship to interstate trade.

The vote on Coburn's amendment was 279-147 (about 66%).

The main bill passed, too, by about 85%. Obama is going to sign it.

It passed. A bit of sanity among the madness of destroying capitalism:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/20/credit-card-forces-dems-vote-gun-rights/?test=latestnews

Carl in Chicago, I laughed out loud about your comment about the NYT. I was in the public library this morning and read the NYT story with glee and a grin!