SAF Sues Federal Govt. over Ban on Guns in National Park Facilities

By Dave Workman The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the ban on firearms in federal facilities operated by the National Park Service. SAF is joined by the Firearms Policy Coalition and a private citizen, Gary Zimmerman, who resides in Fort Worth, Texas. They are represented by attorneys Brent Cooper at Cooper & Scully in Dallas, and David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson and William V. Bergstrom at Cooper & Kirk in Washington, D.C. The case is known as Zimmerman v. Bondi. The case focuses on a prohibition against carrying firearms inside park facilities, despite the longtime allowance for carrying firearms in national parks. As noted in a National Park Service pamphlet, “Congress approved a new law that allows possession of loaded firearms in national parks starting Feb. 22, 2010. That means people can openly carry legal handguns, rifles, shotguns and other firearms and concealed guns if allowed under state statutes and permits. Although this law changes gun regulations in national parks, there are still many important restrictions on the transportation and use of guns under state and federal laws.”

The law was signed by President Barack Obama in 2009 as part of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act. It does not allow hunting, target practice or other recreational shooting within the boundaries of national parks, nor does it allow carrying firearms inside facilities such as visitor centers or park ranger headquarters. In their lawsuit, which names Attorney General Pam Bondi as the defendant, plaintiffs note, “To determine whether a firearm restriction is constitutional, the Court in Bruen explained that “the standard for applying the Second Amendment is as follows: When the Second Amendment’s plain text covers an individual’s conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that conduct. The government must then justify its regulation by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” “Bruen has already established that the Second Amendment covers plaintiffs’ proposed conduct here—carrying arms publicly for self-defense and other lawful purposes,” the complaint adds. “As such, the Second Amendment ‘presumptively protects’ Plaintiffs’ right to carry firearms in federal facilities located in national parks.” “These so-called ‘sensitive places’ restrictions across the country are nothing more than an attempt by idealogues to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bruen,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “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, and we will fight these unconstitutional bans to ensure Americans can enjoy their full Second Amendment rights everywhere they go.” “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,” SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut added. “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. 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.” The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division.