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Trump Administration Prepares to Abolish One of America’s Biggest Gun-Free Zones

Monday, April 20, 2020

Trump Administration Prepares to Abolish One of America’s Biggest Gun-Free Zones

On April 13, the Trump Administration published a proposed rule to end a ban on the possession of firearms in water resource development projects administered by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE).

These areas comprise one of the largest networks of outdoor recreation sites in America, encompassing more than 400 lake and river projects in 43 states. Activities that occur on these sites include hiking, boating, fishing, camping, hunting, and geo-caching.

Currently, regulations pertaining to these areas authorize the use and possession of firearms only for specified purposes, including hunting or at designated shooting ranges, or with written permission from the District Commander who has jurisdiction over the area in question.

The otherwise lawful possession of firearms, including for self-defense, is effectively banned.

Not only does this policy infringe the Second Amendment rights of visitors to these areas, as has been recognized by at least one federal court, it is at odds with policies governing firearms that apply on other types of federal recreational lands.

The National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Forest Service all recognize a right to possess firearms on lands under their authority, consistent with the laws of the states in which those lands are located.

Meanwhile, federal statutory law continues to prohibit the possession of firearms in “federal facilities” (i.e., buildings where federal employees regularly perform their officials duties), a restriction that would not be changed by the pending rulemaking.

As proposed, the rule would allow visitors to possess and transport firearms on ACE water resource development project lands and waters, provided they are not prohibited by law from possessing firearms and the possession or transportation is otherwise in compliance with applicable laws.

This commonsense provision would abolish an existing gun-free zone on 12 million acres of public lands and waters nationwide, including 55,390 miles of shoreline, 7,856 miles of trails, 92,588 campsites, and 3,754 boat ramps.

Comments may be filed in support of the rule at Regulations.gov.  Submissions are due by June 12, 2020.

As Americans look forward to re-engaging in their favorite outdoor pastimes at the end of the state lockdowns currently in effect because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Trump administration is at work to ensure they will do so with their Second Amendment rights fully intact.

The NRA thanks the president for his continued support of our right to keep and bear arms and urges all gun owners to show their enthusiastic support for the proposed rule by submitting their comments.

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Monday, October 13, 2025

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Thursday, October 9, 2025

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Democrat Jay Jones, candidate for Virginia attorney general, still has not suspended his campaign, even as pressure mounts over disclosures that should disqualify, to put it mildly, any individual from serving as the chief law ...

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Monday, October 13, 2025

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Three years ago, Dr. John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), writing for RealClearInvestigations, described how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was vastly undercounting, “by an order of more than three the number of instances in ...

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

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Last week the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

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Wednesday, October 8, 2025

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Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

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Monday, October 6, 2025

Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

Last Monday, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the U.S. Department of Commerce published a final rule that reversed a crackdown on the commercial export of firearms from the U.S. to other countries.

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Ban on Firearms Possession by Nonviolent Felons

Thursday, October 9, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Ban on Firearms Possession by Nonviolent Felons

Today, the National Rifle Association, along with the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, and FPC Action Foundation, filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the federal lifetime prohibition on ...

US Virgin Islands: Sweeping Gun Control Measures Advance

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

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The 36th Legislature of the US Virgin Islands is continuing to advance sweeping gun control measures through the legislative process.

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Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.