Ban on loaded firearms in national parks may be lifted

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The Interior Department plans to revise regulations banning loaded guns in national parks, and park rangers and green groups are up in arms (figuratively, of course). Current rules, which require guns to be disarmed and stowed away within park boundaries, “are not unduly burdensome, but are limited, reasonable, and necessary,” says the president of the National Parks Conservation Association. Concerns about the safety of wildlife — not to mention people — don’t sway gun-rights advocates. “Law-abiding citizens should not be prohibited from protecting themselves and their families while enjoying America’s national parks and wildlife refuges,” says a National Rifle Association lobbyist. At the request of 50 senators (and, according to one NPCA member, “pressure, top down, from the White House”), revised rules will be presented by April 30 for public comment.