Gun Lobby Holds Up Bush ATF Nominee

Campers will be allowed to pack heat in all but 3 of America's national parks

(NEWSER) - Visitors will be allowed to carry concealed and loaded weapons in all but three of America's 391 national parks under a new Bush administration policy, the Washington Times reports. The move, widely seen as a parting gift to the NRA from the president, reverses a 25-year-old Interior Department policy and affects even states that ban guns in state parks. More»

Opposes bill giving AG discretion to ban sales to people on terror watch lists

(NEWSER) - The NRA is urging the Bush administration to oppose a bill that bans suspected terrorists from buying guns. In a letter to AG Alberto Gonzales, the group's executive director objects that the bill, introduced in the Senate last week, "would allow arbitrary denial of Second Amendment rights based on mere 'suspicions' of a terrorist threat." More»

Democrats are out to kill Second Amendment, says group

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration is trying to bring together both sides in the debate over gun control for a series of meetings, but the NRA sees it as a waste of time. “Why should I or the NRA go sit down with a group of people that have spent a lifetime trying to destroy the Second Amendment in the United States?” NRA chief Wayne LaPierre asked the New York Times . Given the NRA's clout, the decision could doom the White House initiative. More»

NRA not expecting a fight, say advocates

(NEWSER) - The Tucson shooting has prompted the drafting of a number of gun-control bills—but lawmakers don’t expect any major legislation to pass. In fact, insiders said, Congress is looking less likely than ever to step up regulation, reports New York Times , which notes that many members of Congress own firearms, and that Democrats, who tend to favor tougher gun laws, have increasingly backed away from the issue. “The fact is Congress has not done any gun legislation in years," says Rep. Peter King, a Republican who has proposed such a bill. More»

Ex-governor has a packed speaking schedule

(NEWSER) - For someone not officially running for anything, Sarah Palin spends an awful lot of time running her mouth. Among highlights from yesterday's soundbite extravaganza, as reported by the AP :

• If Obama and the Dems thought they "could get away with it, they would ban guns and ban ammunition and gut the Second Amendment," Palin, a lifelong NRA member who once had a baby shower at a gun range in Alaska, told the NRA national convention. "It's the job of all of us to stop them in their tracks."