Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) called upon Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to defend the Department of the Interior’s rule that protects Americans’ Second Amendment rights on public lands and wildlife refuges:

“This is a real test of the Administration’s commitment to honoring Americans’ Second Amendment rights and the clock is ticking.  Administration officials only have until April 20^th to decide if they will support or oppose a lone federal judge’s ruling that strips Americans of their Second Amendment rights simply because they might be standing or driving on federal land.   Secretary Salazar should announce that the Department will move forward to defend this commonsense and publically-vetted rule.   If the Administration refuses to defend the Second Amendment, Congress must act.”

Background
In January, with the bipartisan support of over half of the Members of the United States Senate, the Federal Government announced a commonsense policy to legally allow citizens to carry concealed firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges in accordance with State law. 

However, on March 19, 2009, Washington, D.C.-based U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly single-handedly decided to block the Federal Government’s commonsense policy. 

The Department of the Interior now has until Monday, April 20, 2009 to defend or discard the rule to allow visitors to national parks and refuges to carry loaded and concealed weapons.

Legislation has been introduced in the House (H.R. 1684 by Reps. Hastings, Bishop and 23 cosponsors) and the Senate (S. 816 by Senators Crapo, Baucus, Tester, Lincoln, and Bennett) to restore Americans Second Amendment rights on public lands and wildlife refuges. 

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