Obama Administration Won’t Challenge Ruling on Guns in Parks
By Kelly Riddell
April 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration won’t challenge a court ruling that prohibits visitors at some national parks to carry loaded concealed firearms, satisfying gun control groups.
The Interior Department said in a court filing yesterday that it will uphold a U.S. District Judge’s decision to reinstate 26-year-old restrictions on loaded guns in national parks and will conduct a full environmental review of a Bush administration regulation allowing the weapons.
“We are pleased that loaded, concealed guns will continue to be prohibited in our national parks,” said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, in a statement yesterday. “Semiautomatic weapons have no place in the valleys of Yellowstone, on the cliffs of Yosemite, or under the torch of the Statue of Liberty.”
The Bush administration approved an order that allowed visitors to carry firearms in national parks, and the ruling was implemented in January. The National Rifle Association, which backed the order, said it would cut down on crime and could be useful to fend off animal attacks in the parks.
The Brady Campaign along with the National Parks Conservation Association and the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees argued there is little crime in the national parks and the Bush administration’s ruling ruined the family atmosphere.
Lawsuit Filed
Gun control groups filed a lawsuit charging the Bush administration violated several laws when issuing the rule, such as failing to conduct a thorough environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly granted the antigun plaintiffs an injunction against the implementation of Bush’s rule last month.
“We hope and expect that the Obama administration will conclude that the rule can only make our parks more dangerous and should not be implemented,” Helmke said.
The National Rifle Association filed a separate appeal of Kollar-Kotelly’s judgment and several lawmakers who support gun owners’ rights’ have issued legislation to reinstate Bush’s policy.
“We will not give up our fight in courts to defend the rule change,” said NRA Executive Director Chris Cox in a statement last month after Kollar-Kotelly struck down Bush’s order. “We will pursue every legal avenue to defend the American people’s right of self-defense.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Kelly Riddell in Washington at kriddell1@Bloomberg.net Last Updated: April 18, 2009 17:35 EDT
By Kelly Riddell
April 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration won’t challenge a court ruling that prohibits visitors at some national parks to carry loaded concealed firearms, satisfying gun control groups.
The Interior Department said in a court filing yesterday that it will uphold a U.S. District Judge’s decision to reinstate 26-year-old restrictions on loaded guns in national parks and will conduct a full environmental review of a Bush administration regulation allowing the weapons.
“We are pleased that loaded, concealed guns will continue to be prohibited in our national parks,” said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, in a statement yesterday. “Semiautomatic weapons have no place in the valleys of Yellowstone, on the cliffs of Yosemite, or under the torch of the Statue of Liberty.”
The Bush administration approved an order that allowed visitors to carry firearms in national parks, and the ruling was implemented in January. The National Rifle Association, which backed the order, said it would cut down on crime and could be useful to fend off animal attacks in the parks.
The Brady Campaign along with the National Parks Conservation Association and the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees argued there is little crime in the national parks and the Bush administration’s ruling ruined the family atmosphere.
Lawsuit Filed
Gun control groups filed a lawsuit charging the Bush administration violated several laws when issuing the rule, such as failing to conduct a thorough environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly granted the antigun plaintiffs an injunction against the implementation of Bush’s rule last month.
“We hope and expect that the Obama administration will conclude that the rule can only make our parks more dangerous and should not be implemented,” Helmke said.
The National Rifle Association filed a separate appeal of Kollar-Kotelly’s judgment and several lawmakers who support gun owners’ rights’ have issued legislation to reinstate Bush’s policy.
“We will not give up our fight in courts to defend the rule change,” said NRA Executive Director Chris Cox in a statement last month after Kollar-Kotelly struck down Bush’s order. “We will pursue every legal avenue to defend the American people’s right of self-defense.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Kelly Riddell in Washington at kriddell1@Bloomberg.net Last Updated: April 18, 2009 17:35 EDT
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