|
The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence was deeply disturbed by yesterday’s vote in the House of Representatives which gave final Congressional approval to a dangerous, non-germane amendment to the "Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009." The amendment, originally sponsored by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), would allow individuals to bring loaded semiautomatic assault rifles, handguns and shotguns into National Parks as long as the firearm is in compliance with state law. This would override a longstanding and sensible regulation enacted by the Reagan administration that requires visitors to keep guns stored and unloaded when traveling through the Parks.
In passing the Coburn Amendment, this Congress bowed again to the will of the gun lobby and ignored the vocal opposition of every living and former director of the National Park Service, and a broad coalition of ranger organizations, retired superintendents, and environmental groups.
The truth is—like other gun free zones—our National Parks are some of the safest places in the United States, with a violent crime rate 280 times lower than the country as a whole.
It is also clear that the screening process for gun purchasers and concealed carry permit holders offers Americans no assurances that gun owners will be “law-abiding citizens.” Individuals with lengthy criminal records involving violent misdemeanor offenses are not barred under federal law from purchasing firearms. Furthermore, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is missing millions of felony conviction records, mental health records, and domestic restraining orders that should prevent individuals from buying guns.
There have already been three confirmed mass shootings (among other homicides and violent crimes) committed by concealed carry permit holders this year: Neo-Nazi Richard Poplawski killed three police officers and wounded one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 4; Michael McLendon killed ten and wounded six in Alabama on March 10; and Frank Garcia killed four and wounded one in upstate New York on February 14.
The U.S. Congress has done nothing to address these problems—dating back not just to the tragedy at Virginia Tech, but to the Columbine massacre. As a result, dangerous individuals now have easier access to firearms than ever, and the few remaining safe havens in our country are being threatened by bad gun policies that have failed completely in the communities outside them. Taking away a valuable law enforcement strategy that helps to prevent crime in National Parks is one more step on the slippery slope toward a national gun policy that sacrifices the freedom of the general public for the paranoid desires of a vocal minority.
For more information on this issue, please visit the "Keep Parks Safe" page on the National Parks Conservation Association website.
The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence seeks to secure freedom from gun violence through research, strategic engagement and effective policy advocacy. For more information about the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, visit www.csgv.org.
|
