Concealed Carry and National Parks

On May 12th, the Senate voted to include the "Colburn Amendment" on to a bill from the House to better regulate credit card companies. The two Washington Senators, Murray and Cantwell, voted Nay. Not a huge surprise, as they are usually voting lock-step with Democrat Party Instructions. It puts them with an esteemed anti-gun crowd which includes Senators Boxer and Feinstein of California, Senators Durbin and Burris of Illinois, and Senator Kerry as well as others.

Here is Senator Colburn discussing his amendment:





The history of this issue is interesting, but not surprising. The Bush Interior Department rescinded a rule which prohibited concealed firearms carry in the National Parks after a lengthy (and extended) public comment period. The rule, itself, was issued late in 2008, but the process had gone on for a couple of years. The rule states that concealed carry laws in a state extend into the National Park within the state border. For those of us in Washington, it allows those who can legally carry concealed in the state to continue to carry concealed in Mt. Rainier National Park, for example.

The anti-gun (anti-personal-responsibility) groups protested the rule change arguing that:

1. There would be outbreaks of gunfights in the parks


2. Poaching would increase

The Congressional Representative from Washington's 6th District, Norm Dicks, strongly opposes the change.

The supporters of the rule change argued that law enforcement is very sparse in the parks and that crime in the parks is increasing.

Despite the popular support for the change in the rule, the Brady Campaign and others sued in court for an injunction. Citing a lack of an Environmental Impact Study on the effects of carrying a concealed pistol, Federal District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued a preliminary injunction reversing the rule. Certainly the environmental impact of an unfired gun pales at the impact of mosquito spray in the

The Obama Administration has not elected to appeal the ruling, but the National Rifle Association is appealing.

It is likely that the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009 (HR 627) will pass. After all, it has strong support from the White House.




Let us just hope that the Senate/House Conference Committee doesn't strip the Colburn Amendment out.