Before February 2010, guns were not allowed in national parks. Two years after federal legislation overturned that ban, Arizona legislators want to make sure guns cannot be banned in national monuments.
Arizona is somewhat known as a pro-gun-rights state, with gun laws among the most lenient in the nation, but the debate over whether lax laws prevent or encourage weapon-related violence is ongoing. House Bill 3440, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Mesa, would make sure the Bureau of Land Management cannot ban recreational shooting in national monuments.
Currently, recreational shooting is banned at Agua Fria, but allowed at the Grand Canyon-Parashant monument and Vermillion Cliffs in northern Arizona. Hunting is allowed at all monuments.
Obviously, the parks are public land. But does the right of the public to feel safe and enjoy land unmarred by bullet damage trump the 2nd Amendment right to arm oneself? The National Rifle Association, unsurprisingly, would say no.
But many others would say yes, including many park rangers who increasingly double-time as law enforcement. Out of the about 4,000 National Park Service rangers in the United States,, 1,500 have the same credentials as federal law enforcement officers.
As the NRA pointed out, placing restrictions on where the public can use weapons creates a “limited right.” But restricting target shooting in public lands isn’t a restriction of the 2nd Amendment. That famous clause in our Constitution is meant to enable the public to form militias against a rogue government and to protect ourselves against danger when there is no law enforcement available, not to be able to target shoot where we wish.
Arizona already has dozens of public shooting ranges and gun clubs where we can use our guns at our leisure. Personally, I’m in the middle on gun control. Moreover, this isn’t a gun control issue. The ability to carry a gun and the ability to target-shoot in a certain area are two completely different things.
