Bush Administration Taken to Task for Allowing Loaded Guns into National Parks

Posted by Satyam Khanna, Think Progress at 8:14 AM on December 31, 2008.

Earlier this month, the Department of Interior overturned a Reagan-era regulation, allowing loaded firearms at most national park sites such as the National Mall. Yesterday, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence sued the administration, saying the rule "jeopardizes the safety of park visitors in violation of federal law." The release notes that the White House violated their own directive:

The suit charges that the Interior Department violated several federal laws in its rush to implement the rule before President Bush leaves office, including failing to conduct any environmental review of the harm that the rule will cause, as is required by the National Environmental Policy Act. The Department also violated a White House directive that no rules should be issued after November 1, 2008, except in "extraordinary circumstances," issuing the last-minute rule change on December 10, 2008.

The Bush administration also violated its own directive in November with a last-minute rule gutting worker protections.

Tagged as: bush, national parks, guns, gun control, public safety

Satyam Khanna is a Research Associate for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress.