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N.P.S. Firearms Regulations
1. The Current NPS Regulation on
Firearms
The National Park Service (NPS) promulgated
the current regulation on weapons on June 30, 1983 as part of a
thorough revision of NPS rules (48 Federal Register (FR)
30252-30296). The current regulation is found at 36 CFR 2.4. The
current regulation defines “weapons” to include “firearms.” 36 CFR
1.4.
In general, the current regulation prohibits
the possession of weapons in parks but provides several significant
exceptions. One of the most significant exceptions allows the
possession of weapons in vehicles or in temporary lodging if the
weapon is temporarily inoperable or is packed, cased or stored.
Thus the current NPS rule does not impose a general ban on the
possession of weapons or firearms.
The current regulations is:
(a)(1) Except as otherwise
provided in this section…the following are prohibited:
(i) possession of a
weapon, trap or net
(2) Weapons, traps or nets may
be carried…:
(i) At designated times and locations in park areas where:
(A) The taking of
wildlife is authorized by law…
(ii) When used for target practice…pursuant to special
regulations.
….
(iii) Within a residential
dwelling.
(3) Traps, nets and unloaded
weapons may be possessed within a
temporary lodging or
mechanical mode of conveyance when such
implements are rendered
temporarily inoperable or are packed,
cased or stored in a
manner that will prevent their ready use.
The NPS stated in the proposed rulemaking of
March 17, 1982 that “[T]he proposed regulations have been designed
to ensure public safety and provide maximum protection of natural
resources by limiting the opportunity for unauthorized use of
weapons…”
47 FR 11602
The NPS explains the broad exceptions in the
proposed rule by saying “…[T]he proposed regulations (at 2.4)
recognize that the travelling public often possesses property that
is unrelated to their visit to a party (sic) area.
Accordingly the regulations provide that properly stored, unloaded
weapons may be possessed within or upon a mode of transportation, or
within a temporary lodging such as a motel room or tent.” 47 FR
11602
In the Final rulemaking of June 30, 1983,
the NPS responded to several commenters who requested “…that this
section (2.4) be revised to prohibit the carrying of weapons or guns
in park areas where hunting is not permitted.” The NPS rejected
the requests, stating “[T]he Service has determined that it is not
feasible to prohibit the possession of weapons in all situations,
and a total prohibition would be unenforceable. The regulation,
therefore, allows the possession of unloaded weapons within
residential dwellings and temporary lodgings, such as a motel room,
and within or upon a mechanical mode of transportation.” 48 FR
30256.
2.
The 1966 Firearms Regulation
Prior to the 1983 regulations, the NPS last
adopted system-wide regulations in 1966. The regulations of 1966
contained a provision on the possession of weapons at 36 CFR section
2.11. Under the 1966 regulations, the NPS prohibited the
possession of firearms, traps, nets, and weapons in “natural and
historical areas” of the national park system. “In recreational
areas the above referenced items may be used or possessed in
accordance with applicable Federal, State or local law.” 47 FR
11602
The 1966 regulation states:
2.11.
Firearms, traps, and other weapons.
(a)
In natural and historical areas and national parkways the use
of…firearms…is prohibited. The possession of such objects or
implements is prohibited unless they are unload (sic) and adequately
cased, or broken down or otherwise packed in such a way as to
prevent their use while in the park areas….
(b)
In recreational areas (except national parkways) the use or
possession of all firearms shall conform with all applicable
Federal, State and local laws…The possession of loaded firearms…in
developed, populated, or concentrated use areas is prohibited.
NPS 1966 regulations prohibited the
possession of weapons and firearms. The 1983 regulations
liberalized the conditions for the possession of firearms by
establishing exceptions that did not exist in 1966. On the other
hand, the 1983 regulations tightened the condition for the
possession of firearms by eliminating the different standard for
recreational areas. But, in the final analysis, the 1966
regulations used very similar language as the current rule at 36 CFR
2.4(a)(3), in that firearms may be possessed in parks as long as
such firearms are unloaded, cased, broken down or packed away.
The NPS rules of 1966 reflected the NPS
organization of the national park system into three kinds of areas:
“natural, historical and recreational.” This division was laid out
in a memo to the NPS Director from Secretary of the Interior Udall
of July 10, 1964. The NPS rules of 1966 reflected this division,
no place more prominently than designating recreational areas as
generally open to harvesting of some natural resources (such as
rock-hounding), hunting and trapping and, thus the possession of
weapons.
After the enactment of several laws in the
1970’s including the General Authorities Act of 1970, as amended by
the Redwood National Park Expansion Act of 1978, (16 U.S.C. 1a-1)
the NPS promulgated the current regulations to erase the
distinctions between natural, historical and recreational areas.
See 48 FR 30252. In lieu of the distinction, the current
regulations now allow consumptive take of natural resources only
where authorized in the enabling act. Analogously, the 1983
regulations erased the difference between natural/historical and
recreational parks regarding possession of weapons.
3.
Firearms Regulations of 1941
The NPS regulations of 1941 contained a
provision on firearms at 36 CFR 2.11. The regulations states:
2.11 Firearms, etc.
(a) Firearms…are prohibited within the parks and monuments,
except upon written permission of the superintendent. Visitors
entering or traveling through the parks and monuments to places
beyond shall, at entrance, report, and, if required to do so,
surrender all such objects in their possession to the first park or
monument officer, and, in proper cases, may obtain his written
permission to carry them through the park or monument sealed.
Failure to obtain such written permission shall be deemed a
violation of this section. (Emphasis added)
The 1941 NPS regulation was more restrictive
on firearms than any of the successive rules. But one thing the
1941 regulation shares in common with the rules of 1966 and 1983 is
that guns may still be possessed in parks but ONLY if sealed,
i.e. rendered temporarily unusable. Unlike the successive
regulations, the 1941 rules required an NPS-issued written permit to
possess the sealed firearm while in the park or monument.
Note that the 1941 regulation defines
“parks” and “monuments” to include national military parks, national
battlefield parks, national historical parks, national parkways,
Boulder Dam recreation area national historic sites, and battlefield
sites and miscellaneous memorials. 36 CFR 2.1 (1941)
4.
Firearms Regulations of 1936
On June 18, 1936, Secretary of the Interior
Harold Ickes promulgated the first set of general NPS regulations
ever adopted under the Organic Act of 1916 (16 U.S.C. 3). The first
NPS regulations say this about firearms:
8. Firearms, etc. - Firearms…are prohibited within the parks
and monuments, except upon written permission of the superintendent
or custodian. Visitors entering or traveling through the parks and
monuments to places beyond shall, at entrance, report, and, if
required to do so, surrender all such objects in their possession to
the first park or monument officer, and, in proper cases, may obtain
his written permission to carry them through the park or monument
sealed. Failure to obtain such written permission shall be
deemed a violation of this regulation. (Emphasis added)
The 1936 regulations permitted possession of
a firearm in a park upon the issuance of a NPS permit, and then only
if the firearm were “sealed.” |
