Want to destroy the National Parks? Just attach a rider to a bill everyone will want to pass in the wake of economic collapse, the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009, H.R. 627. That's what Senator Coburn (R-OK) did to sneak a bill to allow any type of otherwise legal gun into a national park, where they are otherwise not allowed to be carried.
This bill would allow any gun owner to sit and watch Old Faithful erupt with a shotgun on his shoulder, to have a pistol on his belt as he strode off on a ranger-guided hike through the Redwoods, and you better believe wackos would be strapping for a hike through Glacier's bear country. Once those already nervous people saw a bear that did not yield, they could start blasting away at an endangered species in the name of "self-defense." It would not be long before such incidents became commonplace, killing animals and innocent bystanders.
The bill cleared the U.S. Senate today, because few senators would oppose a bill to reform credit card regulations. How did your senator vote on H.R. 627? It's too late to stop the Senate from making this mistake, but there is still hope in the House. There is little chance that Obama will veto the Credit Cardholder bill, and he has no track record of defending National Parks.
Take action and tell your representatives that this change to the law is harmful and irresponsible. The last, splintered havens in the United States where wildlife is treated as sacred and protected from human interference are under attack. Do it for the wildlife, but do it for your own safety, too.
3 comments:
Regardless of how one stands on this issue, the method that was used to put the "guns in the national parks" on the president's desk certainly shows the "ugly side" of politics. This is a very sneaky, inappropriate way to pass laws.
I believe "they" separated the two parts of the bill (credit card and guns) so Senators could vote "yes" on credit cards and "no" on guns but then put the two parts back together under one bill to send to the president. My understanding of the details may be wrong, but it doesn't take away the underhandedness in allowing guns in national parks.
By the way, in the past, if one carried weapons in the back of the pick-up, was there a place to store them at the rancher's visitor's building while the occupants toured the park in the pick-up? Just curious.
Currently, people are allowed to transport firearms through national parks as long as they are rendered inoperable and are stored out of sight. You can't drive your pickup through the park with shotguns in the gun rack. Concealed weapons are prohibited by law.
This bill allows anyone with a State gun permit to carry loaded firearms anywhere they please in the parks. They could sit in the back row of a ranger program with a loaded rifle if they wanted.
The US Congress passed this bill today.
Update in today's (May 27) news.
Current gun rules in effect until February, 2010, giving time for Park officials to determine which states will allow guns in the park.
But for now, the rules hold; same as before.
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