LETTER FROM WASHINGTON:

Reid relents on guns in U.S. parks

He lets measure through as part of credit card bill after blocking it several times

Sunday, May 24, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Archive of Sun politics stories

Politics: The Early Line

Washington — Take the freeway out of town and soon you’ll see the huge headquarters of the National Rifle Association just a short way away in suburban Virginia.

The NRA moved here in 1994, the year the gun lobby helped Republicans win control of Congress in midterm elections. The group’s logo, in a power font, bears down with influence.

The NRA exerts enormous sway over members of Congress. Lawmakers are reluctant to be at odds with the gun lobby. As much as this country may be shifting left on many issues, experts say voters remain solidly behind the Second Amendment.

Case in point: Every single member of the Nevada delegation voted recently to allow guns to be carried in national parks.

The legislation was tacked onto to a popular credit card reform bill that prevents arbitrary interest rate hikes and other practices consumers find unfair. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law on Friday.

Parks advocates are aghast at the notion of people packing pistols while coming to see Old Faithful or other national park treasures. The nation’s parks are special places, they argue. Current rules required guns to be stored and disassembled. The new law will take effect in nine months.

A duel had been under way for more than a year on the guns-in-parks measure.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid blocked the provision from advancing several times.

A supporter of gun rights who can comfortably fire a shotgun, Reid nevertheless held off attempts by Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma to attach the gun amendment to other bills.

The outgoing Bush administration eventually changed administrative policy to allow guns in Nevada’s Great Basin and national parks elsewhere.

But a judge early this year struck down the Bush-era rule, and Coburn pressed forward.

Finally Reid allowed the vote this month, and 67 senators, including Reid and Nevada Republican John Ensign, voted yes.

Every member of the Nevada delegation in the House followed suit.

Democratic Reps. Shelley Berkley and Dina Titus, both in urban Clark County, voted for the credit card measure with the newly attached gun provision.

In fact, given the opportunity to duck the vote by approving only the credit card portion of the bill, neither of Nevada’s Democratic lawmakers did.

Gun rights “is something that is important to a lot of people in Nevada and her district,” Titus spokesman Andrew Stoddard said. “I don’t think it was a difficult vote.

Berkley, too, said she felt comfortable allowing guns into the parks.

Republican Rep. Dean Heller voted for the gun provision, but against the credit card bill.

In the final Senate action, Reid voted for the full package, and Ensign was absent. He was at his son’s golf tournament, but would have voted for it, a spokesman said.

It’s hard to know what motivated Reid to move on something he had blocked so many times.

Reid had been seen as protecting reluctant Democratic senators from taking a pivotal stance in advance of the fall elections. A gun vote could help shore up the conservative credentials of red-state Democrats, particularly those facing scrutiny back home for their support of the financial bailouts and stimulus that some voters oppose.

Reid’s own reelection in 2010 cannot be ignored, as he burnishes his standing among Western voters in Nevada.

But perhaps just as likely Reid knew that Coburn would be back again and again, potentially holding up the Obama agenda.

Reid, ever the deal maker, called the vote to be done with it.

“We are very appreciative to Sen. Reid for allowing this common-sense measure to go through,” chief NRA lobbyist Chris Cox said.

On a beautiful afternoon in the Rose Garden, Obama signed the credit card bill into law. The sun was shining and, as Obama noted, “change is in the air.”

Not a single word was uttered about the newly-signed law also allowing guns to be carried in the nation’s national parks.

Discussion: 11 comments so far…

By neiman1

5/24/09 at 4:24 a.m.

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harry is not going to act like harry for the next year. He reads polls and nothing is more important to him that his own survival in 2010. It's too late harry. The voters have your number. You are more at fault for the national mess than even the idiot Pelosi.

How is your investigation of Chris Dodd going? Where is your getting spending under control after all that waste from the past 8 years? Good job on unemployment harry, it hasn't been this high since Jimmy Carter the first was President.

No harry, letting people protect themselves if they happen to cross a National Park Boundary while in the woods doesn't make up for anything, it's way too late.

Good luck on your fund raiser with the guy that lambasted all the corporate meetings in Las Vegas. I am sure that will work out just fine. I am sure glad he isn't coming to Las Vegas on the taxpayers dime.
By Pourshot

5/24/09 at 6:10 a.m.

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"A duel had been under way for more than a year on the guns-in-parks measure." ?????

Try almost 6! For an understanding of what this took check out http://www.bighammer.net/timeline.html

The VCDL has been working on this for longer then the NRA. www.vcdl.org
By texexnv

5/24/09 at 7:35 a.m.

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I sure wish Kenny Guinn would come out of retirement and become our Senator....
By KillerB

5/24/09 at 9:46 a.m.

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There's just something fundamentally wrong when the federal government "allows" something we as citizens are already free to do and they have sworn themselves to protect.

Constitutions are the organic law -- source codes -- of we the governments the people created. A member of Congress is first elected but cannot take office without first taking the oath to the effect of supporting the Constitution. That the oath includes supporting the Second Amendment just goes without saying.

So what part of "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed" do these Congress people need explained to them?

It's clear to me here the main charge to government is "shall not be infringed." The obsolete (appropriate here for a promise made more than two centuries ago) definition in the American Heritage Dictionary makes it clear -- to "infringe" is to "defeat" or "invalidate." And that sounds exactly like what Congress was debating. And when they have to debate on something as basic as what they swore oaths to support, then it's clear these Congress people don't know even the fundamentals of their jobs.

What makes it worse are citizens who recently called those among us who argue along these lines "nuts" and "loons" and other choice names. As if the Second Amendment was less important than the First, or any other part of the Bill of Rights.

I'm not sure what's worse -- an ignorant Congress or an ignorant citizenry.
By KillerB

5/24/09 at 10:17 a.m.

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"Constitutions are the organic law -- source codes -- of we the governments the people created."

I meant "Constitutions are the organic law -- source codes -- of the governments we the people created."
By labdaddy

5/24/09 at 11:51 a.m.

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There have always been people packing guns in U.S Parks. The difference now is that law abiding gun owners can defend themselves against them.

p.s. - Harry Reid has become someone that nobody can be proud to support. I don't care how left of center you are. Hurry and get here, 2010.
By SN

5/24/09 at 9:07 p.m.

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http://www.gonv.org/index.htm
By POWERPLAY

5/25/09 at 1:59 a.m.

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People have the right to protect themselfs no matter where they are law-abiding gun owners are not the problem criminals are. This gun bill is long overdue.
By ed7oh

5/25/09 at 3:04 p.m.

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To all who read this and love their civil rights granted to us by God and our Constitution! we must at all cost defend our rights to keep and bear arms, no one in power wants to have their subjects armed, that would stop them from doing what is going on right now even being armed, our government has over stepped it's oath of office and no one has done a thing to stop all these attacts on our freedoms. Obama is taking our liberty away a piece at a time, and we the people must stand up and tell him "NO MORE"! All these politicians don't care about us having our rights they only care about if we send them back to Washington or not. this is were we the people must not be ignorant or stupid. If these people get reelected then they will pass anti gun laws with Obama that you have never seen or even thought of, so please people it is up to us to make sure that these liars are not put back in power ever, they have attacted our civil rights one to many times and me personally am sick of it all, so pass the word to everyone you know and don't know, make sure everyone you meet understands what our rights mean to everyone of us, even them! loose one loose them all, ask Germany, England, Australia, every country that the UN has control over, they want us disarmed as well, so make sure we put true Americans in office from now on. we are not just fighting Obama and congress we are fighting the UN who would love to leave us unsafe like ever country they contaminated with their ilk. We must never let Obama sign a treaty with the UN or any other country that puts power over our COnstitution or our liberties, let's fight people, vote with your heads and your honor of this country and our Constiution. we must never let any international or new domestic laws ever be put above our Constitution or Bill of Rights, we must declare our Independence once again and Washington must listen to us, we will not loose our power to the government that we put in power to protect our rights not take them. so spread the word all you Patriots and let's fight this madness and never put our selves in this possition again. thank you and join the NRA and make others join as well, no more freedom freeloaders, those are who own guns but are not members of the NRA they make us spend and protect their rights, that must all end, even people that don't own guns should be members because the NRA fights for all our civil rights, without the 2nd Amendment all the other Amendments don't count. remember; he who has the guns makes the rules, Hitler and Stalin knew that and look what they did, we must never be like Europe they must be like us and the people want to be. No government will rule America, that is we the peoples department. vote right!!! let's put politicians like Reid out of work, he is only voting on our side because he wants to be put back in office and when he is and people like him they will attack our liberties
By BillCarson

5/25/09 at 3:18 p.m.

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Lisa Mascaro wrote "Current rules required guns to be stored and disassembled."

Wrong. The current rule (effective in January) allows concealed carry in Natinal Parks per state law. It has been enjoined, but that is the rule.
By llanquihue

5/25/09 at 7:11 p.m.

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Sorry Harry, your political posturing is too little too late. I and many other Nevadans are going to do all we can to make sure you exit stage right next year, a la Tom Dashcle.

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