Bangor Daily News, Mount Desert Islander, Bar Harbor Times
New Firearms Laws Unwarranted at Acadia
By Stephanie Clement
December 18, 2008

On Friday, December 5th, the Department of the Interior released its final rule allowing citizens with proper permits to carry loaded concealed firearms into national parks, including Acadia. This is policy change motivated not by interest in bettering our national parks and the experience of all who visit them, but by a lame-duck presidential administration forcing its outgoing political views on our national heritage.

The action was initiated in April in response to a letter sent by 51 U.S. Senators to Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, based it seemed on a misunderstanding of existing regulations regarding firearms. The letter contained the misinformation that citizens were prohibited from transporting and carrying firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges. Actually, the present federal regulations (36 CFR 2.4 (3)) allow the possession of firearms as long as they are “rendered temporarily inoperable or are packed, cased, or stored in a manner that will prevent their ready use.” Enacted during the Reagan Administration, these regulations have effectively protected Acadia’s visitors, wildlife, and rangers.

Senators Collins and Snowe researched the firearms laws more thoroughly and did not sign on. I would like to think that other Senators would have followed suit had they known the whole story.

Beginning January 9th, however, the regulations will change. Loaded, concealed firearms will be allowed in all national parks and wildlife refuges located in states that permit concealed firearms. Maine is one of these states. So, despite the fact that hunting is not allowed in Acadia, anyone who has the proper concealed weapons permit will be allowed to bring their loaded weapon into the campgrounds, onto the Jordan Pond House lawn, to Sand Beach and Cadillac Mountain summit. Does that make anyone feel safer?

Most disappointing about this rule change is the disregard shown by the Bush Administration of the vast majority of public comments received about the proposed rules. Many of the 140,000 comments received by the Department of the Interior were form letters sent at the call of the formidable gun lobby, but many more were from park visitors who remarked about the special status of national parks as places of tranquility and retreat from the world’s problems, who questioned the wisdom of deferring to state policies for highly treasured national icons of natural and cultural heritage, and who cautioned about opportunistic poaching and increased risk of accidents.

It is also disappointing that the final rule took national park firearms laws even further backwards than originally proposed. The draft rule released in April proposed pegging national park firearms laws to the laws of “comparable” state parks. Friends of Acadia pointed out that this presented difficulty for Acadia because the regulations for Baxter State Park and Maine’s state parks generally differed, raising the question of which Acadia should follow? Ironically, even the confusion would have been preferable. If Baxter had set the model for this iconic national park, at least its laws closely reflect Acadia’s current regulations – firearms and bows can be transported through the park if stowed or inaccessible, but may not be used in the park.

But there is still plenty of room for confusion with the new regulations. For instance, how will Acadia’s visitors know about the rule change and Maine’s firearms laws? Maine residents who have their concealed firearms permits will be able to drive down the Park Loop Road with their guns on their hips rather than stowed in cases under the seat, but Acadia’s out-of-state visitors will still have to go through a permit application process that could take up to 60 days. That’s a lot of preparation and forethought for a vacation with your weapons in Maine.

The new firearms laws do not change other federal regulations that pertain to the safe operation of firearms, which is at least one thing to be thankful for. Poachers will still be prosecuted. But additional thought is required related to the regulation of firearms in federal buildings and on their grounds. Guns are not allowed in federal facilities in national parks and wildlife refuges, but presumably with this new rule they will be allowed on the grounds of these buildings. But what does this mean on the ground? At Take Pride in Acadia Day, I won’t be able to take a gun to the restroom at Park Headquarters, but I will be able to have it on my hip while eating chili and cornbread at picnic tables outside the Headquarters Building. Does this make sense? How about on the grounds of the Statue of Liberty or Independence Hall?

Presidential transitions can be exciting and frustrating – exciting because of the hope for a new way of doing things, but frustrating when so many last minute steps are taken to effect ideological policies. Our present national park firearms laws are an effective compromise that allows the possession of weapons, while providing adequate protections for wildlife, rangers, and the visiting public. Seven former National Park Service Directors, the Coalition of National Park Retirees, the Association of National Park Rangers, and the U.S. Park Ranger Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police all have opposed this regulations change. Should we not heed their insight and guidance, and the expressed concerns of hundreds of thousands of visitors?

While it’s uncertain what national legal challenges will be issued to prevent implementation of the new firearms rules, Friends of Acadia knows that continuing public comment continues to be important. If you are concerned about these new regulations, please contact your Maine Senator and Representative and urge them to weigh in with President-elect Obama’s transition team and the Department of the Interior to prevent implementation or quickly reverse the rule.

Stephanie Clement is the Conservation Director at Friends of Acadia