Please welcome our newest Contributing Educator - Mr. Lyle Laverty
Since his retirement as Assistant Secretary of the Interior Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Lyle has launched "The National Association of Gateway Communities (NAGC). NAGC’s mission is to be the unifying voice of gateway communities and the center of collective action on their behalf. The association acts as a liaison with public land agencies, serves as an advocate for Gateway communities, and provides resources and technical support for the long term challenges influencing community vitality brought about by proximity to public lands. www.gatewaysusa.org

In December, 2008 the Department of the Interior finalized regulations governing the possession of firearms in national parks and national wildlife refuges. The regulations allow law abiding citizens to carry and transport concealed firearms consistent with applicable state gun laws. These regulations were developed in response to 51 members of the United States Senate, representing 33 states, who wrote to us requesting support for a “longstanding effort” to revise department regulations which were adopted over 20 years ago. These regulations were thoughtfully developed through an intensive year long period of analysis and review of public comment.

For many years the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service have prohibited law abiding gun owners from carrying and transporting loaded and operable firearms through lands managed by these agencies. During that period many states enacted new firearms policies to allow law-abiding gun owners to carry concealed firearms in state parks and refuge lands and in a vast majority of places within those states. The regulations bring national park and fish and wildlife service policies in line with the other federal land management agencies. Currently, the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management allow visitors to possess firearms in accordance with the laws of the state in which the federal lands are located.

Yesterday’s Washington Post editorial failed to describe what the regulations do not do. The regulations do not change any of the prohibitions on poaching or possessing firearms in federal buildings. Furthermore, they do not, under any circumstances, seek to overrule state laws or regulations on possession of firearms. There was no evidence presented that would indicate citizens with concealed weapons permits present a threat to public safety. Further, there is no evidence that conceal carry permit holders visiting state and federal lands that currently allow conceal carry firearms, have or will abuse their firearms for poaching or illegal shooting. Conceal carry permit holders must subject themselves to background investigations and hold themselves to a higher standard of the law.

President Bush openly supported the long-standing tradition of affording the states the right to determine who may lawfully possess a firearm within their jurisdictions. The regulations are not about poaching, hunting or target shooting. The regulations are about preserving the constitutional rights and protections we each enjoy while providing a clear, consistent regulatory frame work for those who want to responsibly carry firearms on federal public lands.

Good Neighbor Committee
P.O. Box 155 - La Salle, CO  80645
info@goodneighborlaw.com

| Good Neighbor Law© 2006 |