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WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Brady Campaign to
Prevent Gun Violence today filed suit in federal court asking that
the court strike down a last-minute Bush Administration rule change
allowing concealed, loaded firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia, and seeks an injunction to block the rule, which is
scheduled to go into effect on January 9, 2009.
"The Bush Administration's last-minute gift to the gun lobby,
allowing concealed semiautomatic weapons in national parks,
jeopardizes the safety of park visitors in violation of federal law,"
said Brady Campaign President Paul Helmke. "We should not be making
it easier for dangerous people to carry concealed firearms in our parks."
Attorneys with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence's Legal
Action Project and the law firm Ropes & Gray in Washington, D.C. are
representing the Brady Campaign in this case. To read the complaint,
go to
http://www.bradycenter.org/xshare/pd...-complaint.pdf.
The rule will allow guns in rural and urban national park areas
around the country, from Wyoming's Yellowstone and California's
Yosemite to Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park,
home of the Liberty Bell. The suit was filed on behalf of the Brady
Campaign and its members, including school teachers in the New York
and Washington, D.C. areas who are canceling or curtailing school
trips to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and the National Mall
in Washington, D.C. now that the Bush Administration will be allowing
guns in these national park areas.
The suit charges that the Interior Department violated several
federal laws in its rush to implement the rule before President Bush
leaves office, including failing to conduct any environmental review
of the harm that the rule will cause, as is required by the National
Environmental Policy Act. The Department also violated a White House
directive that no rules should be issued after November 1, 2008,
except in "extraordinary circumstances," issuing the last-minute rule
change on December 10, 2008. The rule also violates the National Park
Service Organic Act and the National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act, which created the parks and wildlife refuges as
protected lands for safe enjoyment of all visitors.
Rules in place since the Reagan Administration have allowed visitors
to transport guns in national parks and wildlife refuges if they are
unloaded and stored or dismantled. These restrictions have helped
make these areas some of the safest places to visit in the country.
Yet at the behest of the gun lobby, the Interior Department announced
earlier this year that it planned to allow concealed firearms in
national parks and wildlife refuges. Concealed carrying will be
allowed in every state that allows concealed carrying, even if the
state specifically bans the practice in state parks. Only Illinois
and Wisconsin prohibit concealed carrying.
Numerous studies have confirmed that concealed carrying of firearms
does not reduce crime and, if anything, leads to increased violent
crime. Experience in states that have allowed concealed carrying of
firearms has shown that thousands of dangerous people are able to get
licenses. In Florida, for example, more than 4,200 licenses were
revoked because many of these licensees committed a crime. Since
becoming the first state to allow the concealed carrying of firearms
in 1987, Florida consistently has had one of the highest rates of
violent crime in the nation. Florida has been ranked as the state
with the highest annual violent crime rate more often than any other
state in the last two decades.
As the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization
leading the fight to prevent gun violence, the Brady Campaign, with
its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, works to enact
and enforce sensible gun laws, regulations and public policies. The
Brady Campaign is devoted to creating an America free from gun
violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work,
and in our communities.
For continuing insight and comment on the gun issue, read Paul
Helmke's blog at Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Visit the Brady
Campaign website at Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Contact: Peter Hamm, 202-898-0792,
[email protected]
