Information provided by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL).
Pressure on the Department of the Interior (DOI) to change the rules in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges to allow law-abiding gun owners to carry guns for self-defense has just increased dramatically!
**Forty-seven** Senators have co-signed a letter from Senator Mike Crapo to Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) asking DOI to allow state law to determine if guns can be carried in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges in that state!
The letter (and a link to the PDF version of the letter) is below.
Virginia Senator Jim Webb signed the letter. Senator John Warner, as usual, was no where to be found. (Neither PA Senator signed the letter)
The NRA was apparently instrumental in getting this letter generated - good job. Now we need to help make this actually happen.
ACTION ITEMS:
We need to contact Senator Specter & Casey and urge them to let DOI know that they, too, support Senator Crapo's efforts.
Contact Info:
Casey, Robert P., Jr.- (D - PA)
383 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6324
Web Form: casey.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Specter, Arlen- (R - PA)
711 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4254
Web Form: specter.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactInfo.Home
Subject - select "Second Amendment"
Suggested message:
I urge you to send a letter to the Department of the Interior supporting the efforts of Senator Crapo and 46 other Senators to allow state law to determine if law-abiding citizens can carry a firearm for self-defense while visiting National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges. The right for a citizen to defend himself is both Constitutionally protected and is not negotiable.
Please let me know what you are going to do.
--
Here is a link to the letter and the text of the letter:
http://www.nraila.org/Media/PDFs/kempthorne_ltr.pdf
United States Senate
WASHINGTON, DC 20510
December 14, 2007
The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne
Secretary
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW.
Washington DC 20240
Dear Secretary Kempthorne:
We write today concerning a longstanding effort to have the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service remove their prohibitions on law-abiding citizens from transporting and carrying firearms on lands managed by these agencies.
We appeal to you on this matter in the interest of Second Amendment rights and consistency in
firearms policy across federal public land management agencies.
As you know, 36 CFR 2.4, applicable to the National Park Service, and 50 CFR 27.42, applicable to the Fish and Wildlife Service, prohibits individuals from possessing a firearm on lands managed by those agencies - even citizens with valid concealed weapons permits.
These regulations infringe on the rights of law-abiding gun owners, who wish to transport and carry firearms on or across these lands. Also, you will note that other federal land management agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service allow transporting and carrying of firearms on these lands in accordance with the laws of the host state. These inconsistencies in firearms regulations for public lands are confusing, burdensome, and unnecessary.
For these reasons, we support an exception to 36 CFR 2.4 and 50 CFR 27.42 to allow law-abiding citizens to transport and carry firearms consistent with state law where the National Park Service's sites and the National Wildlife Refuges are located. Such regulatory changes would respect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners, while providing a consistent application of state weapons laws across all land ownership boundaries.
We appreciate the opportunity to share our concerns with you. Please treat this letter in
conformance with all applicable procedural rules and ethical guidelines.
Sincerely,
Senator Mike Crapo
Senator Max Baucus
Senator Larry Craig
Senator Tim Johnson
Senator Jim Inhofe
Senator Jon Tester
Senator David Vitter
Senator Mark Pryor
Senator Gordon Smith
Senator Blanche Lincoln
Senator Orrin Hatch
Senator Byron Dorgan
Senator Norm Coleman
Senator Ben Nelson
Senator Tom Coburn
Senator Jim Webb
Senator Judd Gregg
Senator Lisa Murkowski
Senator John Ensign
Senator John Sununu
Senator Ted Stevens
Senator Robert Bennett
Senator Saxby Chambliss
Senator Thad Cochran
Senator Johnny Isakson
Senator John Bunning
Senator Wayne Allard
Senator John Thune
Senator Chuck Grassley
Senator Bob Corker
Senator Trent Lott
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Senator Pat Roberts
Senator Mel Martinez
Senator John Cornyn
Senator Richard Shelby
Senator Chuck Hagel
Senator Lindsey Graham
Senator Elizabeth Dole
Senator Mike Enzi
Senator John McCain
Senator John Barrasso
Senator Sam Brownback
Senator Pete Domenici
Senitor Jim DeMint
Senator Jeff Sessions
Senator Jon Kyl
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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page:
http://www.vcdl.org