WASHINGTON, D.C. – During today’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, ranking member Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, questioned Interior Department officials about a proposed policy that would restrict recreational shooting on Bureau of Land Management land.

(click to watch video)

“I’ve got a real concern about this, as most of my constituents in Alaska clearly do,” Murkowski said. “The last time the Department of Interior attempted to regulate guns…, we ended up with the Guns in Parks legislation. This is something that would cause a great deal of concern and angst.”

Yesterday, the U.S. News and World Report posted an article suggesting that the Obama administration was attempting to push gun owners off of public lands. While the administration says that conflicts are escalating between gun users and those using the land for hiking or other activities, opponents suggest they are simply trying to make hunting and target shooting more difficult.

The article describes it as the “first major move” by the Obama administration to limit firearm usage on public lands.

*The Guns in Parks legislation is in section 512 (p. 1764) of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act linked to above.

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For further information, please contact Robert Dillon at 202.224.6977 or Robert_dillon@energy.senate.gov or Megan Hermann at 202.224.7875 or Megan_Hermann@energy.senate.gov.

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