Two major gun-rights organizations are taking the federal government to court over the federal law banning carrying a firearm in the country’s national parks.
On March 27, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), along with an individual FPC member, filed Zimmerman v. Bondi with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The lawsuit specifically challenges the constitutionality of federal law 18 U.S.C. § 930(a), which bars knowingly possessing a firearm in a federal facility, as applied to federal facilities operated by the National Park Service.
The law defines a federal facility in the National Park System as “… government offices, visitor centers, ranger stations, fee collection buildings, and maintenance facilities.” Park officials may also impose park-specific restrictions on where firearms may be carried.
“The Supreme Court has squarely held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, and that all responsible, law-abiding Americans are entitled to exercise that right,” the complaint states. “In Bruen, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms fully extends to general carry of arms in public.”
Adam Kraut, SAF executive director, said in a news release announcing the lawsuit that more than 300 million people traveled through the National Park System last year, and each of them were unconstitutionally barred from carrying firearms inside specific buildings at those parks.
“Campers wishing to carry a firearm for self-defense in these parks, for instance, are made to disarm before stepping foot inside a visitor center or ranger station to obtain a permit to camp,” Kraut said. “This disenfranchisement forces peaceable citizens to choose between following the registration rules for each park or going unarmed while they gather the proper documentation allowing them to enjoy our National Park System. That’s not a choice any law-abiding American should have to make.”
Alan Gottlieb, SAF founder and executive vice president, said such “sensitive places” restrictions across the nation are simply an attempt by idealogues to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bruen.
“Peaceable citizens should not be forced to choose between exercising their right to keep and bear arms and enjoying the full breadth of the National Park System,” Gottlieb said. “And we will fight these unconstitutional bans to ensure Americans can enjoy their full Second Amendment rights everywhere they go.”
Speaking for his organization, FPC President Brandon Combs said the ban is both unconstitutional and immoral.
“The right to bear arms doesn’t stop at the park gate, and peaceable people can’t be disarmed just because they walk into a visitor center or ranger station,” Combs said in a news release. “We’re going to force the government to respect the right to bear arms, period.”
