Hatch Lauds Senate Vote To Lift Ban On Guns In National Parks

Press Release

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) today lauded the Senate's vote to allow people to carry firearms into America's national parks and wildlife refuges.

By a 67-29 bipartisan vote, the Senate passed Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn's amendment that would eliminate regulatory restrictions on the possession and transport of firearms in lands controlled by the National Park and Wildlife Refuge Systems. Under the amendment, the rules would be determined by the laws of the state in which the lands are located.

"This amendment will put an end to the confusing and unnecessary rules that have required citizens to check their Second Amendment rights when they enter a national park," Hatch said following the vote. "The fact that it had such widespread support demonstrates that the vast majority support both the rights of law-abiding gun owners and the right of states to set their own reasonable standards in these areas. I am proud to support this legislation and hope to see it signed into law."

Coburn's amendment is similar to legislation Hatch co-sponsored earlier this year. In addition, during the 110th Congress, Hatch joined many of his Senate colleagues in signing a letter to then-Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne urging the removal of the restrictions.

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