New DOI Rule Lifts Ban On Firearms In National Parks

People with CCW licenses will soon be able to carry concealed, loaded guns in most national parks and wildlife refuges. Other citizens without the papers must still go unarmed. This was a particularly bad limitation in Florida, since there were many main roads which traversed National Parks. The Everglades National Park, one of the most remote, was one of these. It is especially bad out in a boat, since there is no cell phone coverage, and VHF radio does not have the range.

The Bush administration said Friday it is overturning a 25-year-old federal rule that severely restricts loaded guns in national parks.

"If you can carry (a gun) on Main Street, you are allowed to carry in a national park," said Chris Paolino. a spokesman for the Interior Department.

The Interior Department rule overturns a Reagan-era regulation that has restricted loaded guns in parks and wildlife refuges. The previous regulation required that firearms be unloaded and placed somewhere that is not easily accessible, such as in a car trunk.

Assistant Interior Secretary Lyle Laverty said the new rule respects a long tradition of states and the federal government working together on natural resource issues.

The regulation allows individuals to carry concealed firearms in federal parks and wildlife refuges to the same extent they can lawfully do so under state law, Laverty said, adding that the approach is in line with rules adopted by the federal Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. Those agencies let visitors carry weapons consistent with applicable federal and state laws

Read About It: WashingtonPost.com

Oh yeah, The office of President elect Obama, isn't that name and title just a hoot, hasn't said whether he will overturn the rule. BTW, has Obama ever said the word freedom? No? Ever wonder why?