The Battle For National Park Carry Isn’t Over

In 2009, President Barack Obama signed a law that ended the National Park Service’s ban on guns in parks, monuments, historic parks and every other kind of NPS property. Obama, of course, didn’t want to do it, but because Republicans managed to get national park carry inserted into a “must-pass” bill, Obama was left with little choice but to sign on the line.

This was, of course, a big victory for gun rights. Even if you aren’t visiting a national park, it’s entirely possible to drive through one on the way to somewhere else. For visitors, being able to protect themselves from everything from smugglers and ransom gangs in border parks to drug grow operations elsewhere meant a lot more peace of mind for the family.

Sadly, visitors still face a bit of a minefield. While you can lawfully carry in a national park according to the laws of the state the park is in, “federal facilities” within the parks are still off limits. This basically means any building in which NPS personnel work, so the visitor center, many bathrooms and showers, and even some hotels are off limits. Worse, the National Park Service has stretched the reasonable definition of “building” to include natural structures like the caves at Carlsbad Caverns.

Even worse, the NPS is still going to go after you if you have any reason to use the firearm. According to the NPS website:

Unless authorized, the use or discharge of a firearm within a park area is prohibited. 36 CFR 2.4(b) and 13.30(c). In parks where hunting is specifically mandated or authorized by federal statute, firearms may be used to hunt in accordance with NPS regulations and state laws. 36 CFR 2.2.

Visitors should not consider firearms as protection from wildlife.

So, expect the NPS to jerk you around in court and try to take your freedom away if you need to shoot at animals, whether on two or four legs.

Blatantly Unconstitutional

The good news is that after the 2022 NYSRPA v Bruen decision, the days of these remaining unconstitutional laws and policies are numbered. There’s really no widespread historic example of gun bans on public property from the time of constitutional ratification until the 14th Amendment was adopted. So, there’s no real way to say that visitor centers and caves are a place where guns can be banned. There may be some way to justify banning carry in the actual offices of the Park Service but bans on publicly accessible areas really can’t be justified.

As for the use of firearms in self-defense, parks are likely going to need to defer to state laws on use of force. Things like the reasonable person standard, necessity, and whether one instigated an attack need to come into play instead of a blanket policy that bans all firing of guns, no matter how compelling one’s need for that may be.

But, to make these things happen, the NPS will need to be taken to court. That, of course, is going to require money. So, on top of asking gun rights organizations to take this on, we must also chip in a few bucks to cover the costs. Personally, I’d recommend sending FPC a few bucks, and not only because I’m working with them on another case. But, if you have another organization you think might take it on, be sure to pitch in there, too!