Ron Paul Wants To Be Able To Shoot Yogi Bear and Boo Boo Too.

Right now it is a violation of National Park Regulations for anybody to carry a firearm in a National Park without a special permit. Ron Paul thinks that rule, which is intended to keep human visitors to and the wild life residents of our National Parks safe, is an intrusion on his right to walk around with a gun. It is, but the Constitution allows for such intrusions if the government can show there are compelling reasons, like keeping people and wildlife alive by encouraging visitors to keep a safe distance from wild animals.

Paul has introduced something he calls H.R.1897 - National Park Second Amendment Restoration and Personal Protection Act of 2007 which is intended to make it legal for anybody to carry weapons when visiting our parks. A copy of the bill can be found after the break. What do you think? Good idea or bad? Why? Is Paul pandering again to the "I got my rights without responsibilities" set.


A BILL

To protect the second amendment rights of individuals to carry firearms in units of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `National Park Second Amendment Restoration and Personal Protection Act of 2007'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--

(1) the second amendment to the Constitution provides that `the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed';

(2) section 2.4(a)(1) of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, provides that `except as otherwise provided in this section and parts 7 (special regulations) and 13 (Alaska regulations), the following are prohibited: (i) Possessing a weapon, trap or net (ii) Carrying a weapon, trap or net (iii) Using a weapon, trap or net';

(3) the regulations described in paragraph (2) prevent individuals complying with Federal and State laws from exercising the second amendment rights of the individuals while at units of the National Park System;

(4) the existence of different laws relating to the transportation and possession of firearms at different units of the National Park System entraps law-abiding gun owners while at units of the National Park System; and

(5) the Federal laws should make it clear that the second amendment rights of an individual at a unit of the National Park System should not be infringed.

SEC. 3. FIREARMS IN UNITS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.

No Federal regulation shall restrict any individual from possessing or carrying a firearm if that restriction is based in whole or in part upon the fact that the individual is in a unit of the National Park System.