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Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mike Enzi, John Barrasso and Representative Cynthia Lummis, all R-Wyo., praised the implementation of a law solidifying the second amendment by allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons on to National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service public lands.

“Finally, after years of fighting in the courts, the Constitution has prevailed and gun owners rights are protected. With all of our national parks, refuges and monuments, this is welcome news to Wyoming gun owners who, for so long, have had to deal with inconsistent gun laws,” said Enzi.

“This is a step in the right direction. I hope the National Park Service (NPS) implements this law the way Congress intended. All NPS personnel need to be familiar with this new law so Wyoming citizens don’t have their Second Amendment rights violated,” said Barrasso.

“For decades, law-abiding citizens in Wyoming have been prohibited from exercising their constitutional right to keep and bear arms on Park Service lands,” Lummis said. “Last spring, Congress confirmed in no uncertain terms that state and local laws – instead of unelected bureaucrats and anti-gun activist judges – should govern firearm possession on these lands. I am pleased to see after nearly a year the Administration plans to enforce the law.”

Today marks the first day that the rules governing firearms possession in the boundaries of a National Wildlife Refuge have been updated to reflect Second Amendment rights and to be consistent.           

President Obama signed the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009, H.R. 627, in May which included language the delegation fought for to ensure Second Amendment rights are not infringed upon for law abiding weapons owners. 

Enzi, Barrasso and 15 other senators led an effort to force a vote on an amendment in the Senate that outlined that guns would be allowed in national parks. Lummis voted for legislation in the House that included the same language. The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 67-29 and the House passed the bill by a vote of 361-64.    

In December 2008, a rule was implemented to allow concealed weapons in national parks and wildlife refuges. That rule was soon after challenged in court and the U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C. ruled that an environmental study is needed before the new rule change can be accepted.       

With H.R. 627 signed into law, the courts no longer have to wait for a final decision on the environmental study.