Re: Senate measure allows loaded weapons in National Parks

Don't blame the messenger.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1045318.html

WASHINGTON -- Visitors would be able to carry loaded guns in national parks and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service public lands under a provision approved overwhelmingly by the Senate on Tuesday.

But final passage of the amendment, which was attached to legislation rewriting some credit card laws to favor consumers, isn't guaranteed.

Though it was passed by a 67 to 29 vote, with 27 Democrats, 39 Republicans and one independent voting aye, it could still be stripped from the final bill, which the Senate will continue to consider Wednesday. One Republican, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, joined 28 Democrats in voting no.

Click the link above for the full article.

Lamar Alexander's vote must represent greater antipathy toward consumer rights than fear of the NRA.

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/05/12/national/a122004D94.DTL

Girl allegedly uses gun to force sister to play
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
(05-12) 18:01 PDT Martinsburg, W.Va. (AP) --
Police said an 11-year-old girl threatened her 7-year-old sister with a gun to force the younger child
to play with her on Monday at her grandmother's residence. Police said the girl also pointed the
.38-caliber pistol at her grandmother. ...(cut)

With the new CCW rules, perhaps this sort of coercion will speed up the line on Half Dome!

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

It's pretty obvious that the vote isn't on this particular provision but the bill as a whole. How completely unrelated matters get slipped into bills is an interesting facet of the US lawmaking system.

I wouldn't be surprised if this gets stripped when it goes through revisions in the House.