News Release
Brady Campaign And Brady Center
Urge Bush Administration To Reject
Guns In National Parks
For Immediate Release:
07-01-2008
Contact Communications:
(202) 898-0792 Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
Washington, D.C. - In comments filed yesterday, the Brady Campaign and Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence urged the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bush Administration to reject a proposed rule to allow national park and wildlife refuge visitors to carry loaded, concealed firearms.
Current Reagan-era rules allow visitors to transport firearms in parks and refuges if they are unloaded and stored or dismantled. These restrictions have made the parks some of the safest places to visit in the country. On April 30th, the Department announced a proposed regulation to dismantle current rules and allow the carrying of concealed firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. Areas where concealed carrying would be permitted would be based on the patchwork of state laws that currently regulate each state’s parks and refuges.
Park and refuge visitors armed with loaded, hidden semiautomatic weapons and other firearms, the comments argue, will endanger park and refuge visitors and lead to an increased risk of gun crime and shooting injuries and death. Numerous studies have confirmed that concealed carrying of firearms does not reduce crime and, if anything, leads to increased violent crime. Leading researchers have also rejected studies claiming that concealed carrying of firearms decreases crime, determining that these studies are fundamentally flawed and not credible.
“The Bush Administration needs to keep our parks safe,” said Brady Campaign and Brady Center President Paul Helmke. “Semiautomatic weapons in our national parks will not make them safer. We should not make it easier for dangerous people to carry firearms into our national parks.”
The comments filed yesterday point out that many state concealed carry licensing systems have endangered public safety by allowing licenses to be obtained by dangerous people who commit violent acts with their firearms. Many concealed carry license holders have been arrested for crimes after they were granted a license. One state, Utah, has granted licenses to thousands of non-residents, including citizens of foreign countries. Many of those individuals received licenses without any background checks or proof of adequate firearms training.
Experience in states that have allowed concealed carrying of firearms has shown that thousands of dangerous people are able to get licenses. In Florida, for example, more than 4,200 licenses were revoked because many of these licensees committed a crime. Since becoming the first state to allow the concealed carrying of firearms in 1987, Florida consistently has had one of the highest rates of violent crime in the nation. Florida has been ranked as the state with the highest annual violent crime rate more often than any other state in the last two decades.
# # #
As the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence, the Brady Campaign, with its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, works to enact and enforce sensible gun laws, regulations and public policies. The Brady Campaign is devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities.
For continuing insight and comment on the gun issue, read Paul Helmke's blog at www.bradycampaign.org/blog/. Visit the Brady Campaign website at www.bradycampaign.org.
Brady Campaign And Brady Center
Urge Bush Administration To Reject
Guns In National Parks
For Immediate Release:
07-01-2008
Contact Communications:
(202) 898-0792 Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
Washington, D.C. - In comments filed yesterday, the Brady Campaign and Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence urged the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bush Administration to reject a proposed rule to allow national park and wildlife refuge visitors to carry loaded, concealed firearms.
Current Reagan-era rules allow visitors to transport firearms in parks and refuges if they are unloaded and stored or dismantled. These restrictions have made the parks some of the safest places to visit in the country. On April 30th, the Department announced a proposed regulation to dismantle current rules and allow the carrying of concealed firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. Areas where concealed carrying would be permitted would be based on the patchwork of state laws that currently regulate each state’s parks and refuges.
Park and refuge visitors armed with loaded, hidden semiautomatic weapons and other firearms, the comments argue, will endanger park and refuge visitors and lead to an increased risk of gun crime and shooting injuries and death. Numerous studies have confirmed that concealed carrying of firearms does not reduce crime and, if anything, leads to increased violent crime. Leading researchers have also rejected studies claiming that concealed carrying of firearms decreases crime, determining that these studies are fundamentally flawed and not credible.
“The Bush Administration needs to keep our parks safe,” said Brady Campaign and Brady Center President Paul Helmke. “Semiautomatic weapons in our national parks will not make them safer. We should not make it easier for dangerous people to carry firearms into our national parks.”
The comments filed yesterday point out that many state concealed carry licensing systems have endangered public safety by allowing licenses to be obtained by dangerous people who commit violent acts with their firearms. Many concealed carry license holders have been arrested for crimes after they were granted a license. One state, Utah, has granted licenses to thousands of non-residents, including citizens of foreign countries. Many of those individuals received licenses without any background checks or proof of adequate firearms training.
Experience in states that have allowed concealed carrying of firearms has shown that thousands of dangerous people are able to get licenses. In Florida, for example, more than 4,200 licenses were revoked because many of these licensees committed a crime. Since becoming the first state to allow the concealed carrying of firearms in 1987, Florida consistently has had one of the highest rates of violent crime in the nation. Florida has been ranked as the state with the highest annual violent crime rate more often than any other state in the last two decades.
# # #
As the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence, the Brady Campaign, with its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, works to enact and enforce sensible gun laws, regulations and public policies. The Brady Campaign is devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities.
For continuing insight and comment on the gun issue, read Paul Helmke's blog at www.bradycampaign.org/blog/. Visit the Brady Campaign website at www.bradycampaign.org.
