Senate committee votes to allow carry in National Parks

From Congressional Quarterly:

The Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved, 18-5, a draft bill by Sen. Jim DeMint , R-S.C. It would allow people to bring loaded guns into national parks and wildlife refuges unless state laws bar them from doing so. Park Service regulations now allow guns only if they are unloaded and stowed.

“The purpose of this bill is to protect innocent Americans from violent crime in national parks,” DeMint said.

Park advocacy groups immediately decried the move and warned it could be far more difficult for park rangers to stop poaching. “America’s national parks shouldn’t be made a political football in the gun debate,” said Bryan Faehner, associate director for park use at the National Parks Conservation Association.

Article here. I would venture that this has little chance of passing the full Senate, much less becoming law, in this election year. Meanwhile, the wait for the Dept. of the Interior to issue its final rule on national parks carry continues. If Barack Obama wins the election, expect the next administration to quickly move to rescind any regulation allowing carry in national parks.