Winchester 73
member
More common sense from South Dakota.Rapid City Journal Editorial
Make gun restrictions consistent
By Journal Editorial Board Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Like Sens. Tim Johnson, John Thune and nearly half of the U.S. Senate, we urge Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to lift restrictions that prevent citizens from carrying a firearm onto land managed by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Currently, hunting is banned in most of America’s national parks. Any guns brought into those parks must be unloaded, cased and inaccessible. Hunters argue that is inconvenient and cumbersome during legal hunting seasons when they may cross NPS lands to hunt on other public lands that are open to hunting.
“Federal agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service allow firearms on lands they manage in accordance with state and local laws,” Sen. Thune explained. “The National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service, on the other hand, have much more restrictive policies when it comes to firearms and I believe that should be reevaluated in accordance with the Second Amendment.”
The change in policy would correct those inconsistencies that currently exist in firearms regulations for public lands. Making those regulations more uniform across all public lands is a good idea and one to which we hope the Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service respond affirmatively.
NPS is reviewing the senator’s letter, but Badlands National Park Superintendent Paige Baker thinks the current law works and he isn’t an advocate of changing it. His brother, Gerard, who heads Mount Rushmore National Memorial, said the NPS gun policy is well-accepted at the memorial.
While we hope people won’t start packing pistols into the Shrine of Democracy’s ampitheater, Americans should not be forced to check their right to self-defense at park borders.
The Second Amendment right of Americans to arm themselves against predators — both the four-legged and the two-legged types — while enjoying their national parks and public lands should be protected. NPS law enforcement can’t begin to guarantee the safety and security of all campers, hikers and visitors in our national parks.
People have a constitutional right not to become disarmed victims while enjoying their public lands.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/02/05/news/opinions/doc47a8fdb3ec8b8172720973.txt
Make gun restrictions consistent
By Journal Editorial Board Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Like Sens. Tim Johnson, John Thune and nearly half of the U.S. Senate, we urge Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to lift restrictions that prevent citizens from carrying a firearm onto land managed by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Currently, hunting is banned in most of America’s national parks. Any guns brought into those parks must be unloaded, cased and inaccessible. Hunters argue that is inconvenient and cumbersome during legal hunting seasons when they may cross NPS lands to hunt on other public lands that are open to hunting.
“Federal agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service allow firearms on lands they manage in accordance with state and local laws,” Sen. Thune explained. “The National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service, on the other hand, have much more restrictive policies when it comes to firearms and I believe that should be reevaluated in accordance with the Second Amendment.”
The change in policy would correct those inconsistencies that currently exist in firearms regulations for public lands. Making those regulations more uniform across all public lands is a good idea and one to which we hope the Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service respond affirmatively.
NPS is reviewing the senator’s letter, but Badlands National Park Superintendent Paige Baker thinks the current law works and he isn’t an advocate of changing it. His brother, Gerard, who heads Mount Rushmore National Memorial, said the NPS gun policy is well-accepted at the memorial.
While we hope people won’t start packing pistols into the Shrine of Democracy’s ampitheater, Americans should not be forced to check their right to self-defense at park borders.
The Second Amendment right of Americans to arm themselves against predators — both the four-legged and the two-legged types — while enjoying their national parks and public lands should be protected. NPS law enforcement can’t begin to guarantee the safety and security of all campers, hikers and visitors in our national parks.
People have a constitutional right not to become disarmed victims while enjoying their public lands.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/02/05/news/opinions/doc47a8fdb3ec8b8172720973.txt