A pair of Republican lawmakers introduced legislation Thursday to end the ban on carrying firearms into buildings on federal lands, to allow people to take guns into some park facilities.
Reps. Rudy Yakym (R-Ind.) and Pat Fallon (R-Texas) said the legislation closes a “loophole” that bans gun owners from carrying firearms into buildings on public lands where the practice is lawful just outside.
“Hoosiers who can lawfully carry shouldn’t lose that right when they step into a federal park building,” said Yakym in a press release.
Currently, there is a ban on carrying firearms in buildings owned or leased by the federal government and where federal employees work. The proposed amendment would carve out exemptions for facilities that are open to visitors and are owned or leased by certain agencies, including the National Park System, the Bureau of Land Management and NOAA.
