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EXPLORE Act Heads to Joe Biden’s Desk with Strong Bipartisan Support

Monday, December 23, 2024

EXPLORE Act Heads to Joe Biden’s Desk with Strong Bipartisan Support

The U.S. government manages approximately 28% of the nation’s landmass for purposes that include preservation and development of natural resources and outdoor recreation. Last week the Senate passed a sprawling package of legislation known as the “Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act” (EXPLORE Act) that would enhance the accessibility of these lands to recreational shooters, hunters, and other outdoorsmen. The bipartisan bill now heads to Joe Biden’s desk, where it will hopefully be signed into law.

The bill makes clear “it is the policy of the Federal Government to foster and encourage recreation on Federal recreational lands and waters” and facilitates this through a wide range of mechanisms to remove barriers to recreational access and to promote this use. The Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior would be required to conduct an inventory and assessment of recreation resources on federal lands and to identify underutilized locations suitable for developing or expanding recreation opportunities. A Federal Interagency Council on Recreation would be established with representation from the agencies responsible for administering these lands, as well as state and local partners. Its mandate would be to coordinate on improving access to federal lands and waters.

One of the most promising of the EXPLORE Act’s provisions for gun owners is its inclusion of the Range Access Act. This legislation would direct the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to identify and maintain, or establish, within five years, at least one target shooting range on every national forest and Bureau of Land Management unit that they determined to be suitable for that purpose. Ranges would be required to accommodate rifle and pistol shooting and could further include infrastructure for skeet, trap, sporting clay, and archery uses. The ranges would have to remain open to the public, unless in the case of an emergency closure. The Secretaries would also have to maintain lists of those ranges and to make them available to the public. The act would allow these ranges to be administered and maintained in partnership with state and local governments, as well as with nongovernmental organizations, including shooting clubs and nonprofit organizations.

Other provisions of the EXPLORE Act would require the reopening and modernization of overnight camping facilities and the development of programs aimed at increasing reactional land use by veterans and youth. The act would furthermore streamline access to permits and remove bureaucratic barriers to the use of federal lands for recreation.

Overall, the EXPLORE Act promises to significantly contribute to America’s rich heritage of outdoor recreation on federal lands and waters.

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North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

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.

Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s “Engaged in the Business” Rule in NRA Case

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s “Engaged in the Business” Rule in NRA Case

Yesterday, in Butler v. Bondi, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama held that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives exceeded its statutory authority by issuing its 2024 Final Rule expanding ...

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

California officials’ egregious foot-dragging over the issuance of carry permits has finally attracted the ire of the federal Department of Justice (DOJ). 

President Trump’s GOP Leads Polling on Crime and Guns, To No Surprise

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

President Trump’s GOP Leads Polling on Crime and Guns, To No Surprise

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that Americans know the President Donald Trump-led Republican Party has a better plan than their Democratic Party opponents on crime and gun control.

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit Case Challenging the Federal Switchblade Act

Friday, October 3, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit Case Challenging the Federal Switchblade Act

Yesterday, the National Rifle Association filed an amicus brief in Knife Rights, Inc. v. Bondi, urging the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas’s decision upholding the Federal ...

Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

News  

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.

Trust in Mass Media Craters to New Lows, in Single Digits With Republicans

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

Trust in Mass Media Craters to New Lows, in Single Digits With Republicans

There’s an old saying that rings especially true to Second Amendment supporters: If you don’t read the news, you’re uninformed.

Alphabet Eases the Reins on Censorship; Will Gun Content Eventually Benefit?

News  

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Alphabet Eases the Reins on Censorship; Will Gun Content Eventually Benefit?

With the free speech debate recently co-opted by one TV host’s use of false and incendiary remarks about his political opponents, it might have been easy to miss another important First Amendment story last week. 

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

News  

Monday, September 29, 2025

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

There have been multiple developments on the Canadian gun grab and ban in the last few days, but the most astounding has got to be a leaked bombshell recording of the Liberal Public Safety Minister, ...

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Challenge to Hawaii’s Private Property Default Carry Ban

Friday, October 3, 2025

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Challenge to Hawaii’s Private Property Default Carry Ban

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari in Wolford v. Lopez, a challenge to Hawaii’s law forbidding carry on private property open to the public (such as restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores) ...

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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.