Senator George F. Allen, who lost his seat in the last election, has decided to promote one last bill. From today's
NY Times:
As a last little gift to America, Senator George Allen, who was narrowly defeated by James Webb this month, has introduced what may be his final piece of legislation: a bill that would allow the carrying of concealed weapons in national parks.
...Senator Allen’s bill is, of course, being cheered by the gun lobby, which sees it not as an assault on public safety but as a way of nationalizing the armed paranoia that the National Rifle Association and its cohorts stand for. [Emphasis added]
While it is doubtful that the bill has a chance in the final weeks of this lame duck session, the fact that Sen. Allen even introduced it is very interesting (not to mention laughable). Did he draw the short straw when it came to the GOP offering a bone to the gun lobby, thereby ensuring continuing campaign contributions for 2008? Was it his way to show his middle finger to those who elected his opponent? Or, and more likely, was this simply a way to show his bona fides as a conservative for his next campaign?
Whatever the reason, the bill stinks. If citizens want to feel safer in national parks, there are other, better ways to accomplish this, like increasing the funding for the parks so that they can be adequately staffed and policed. Like churches and schools, the parks are not the place for an armed citizenry, Second Amendment misinterpretations aside.
Heckuva job, Macaca.
Labels: George Allen, Second Amendment
