Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) is calling out armed protesters who used a D.C.-area national park in his district to protest the federal government today.
In a tough statement from his office today, Moran — never one to hold back when it comes to people he disagrees with — said that doesn’t care for the new laws allowing people to carry guns at national parks, and he said that the fact that protesters are taking advantage of them “raises major public safety concerns.”
“These anti-government demonstrations are fueled by the belief that our constitutional rights under the Second Amendment are somehow under attack and urgent action is needed,” he said. “While this may be a powerful rallying point for special interest groups, the claim could not be further from the truth.”
“In fact,” he continued, “much to my dismay, virtually every action the federal government has taken in the past decade has weakened commonsense gun laws already on the books.”
The law that allows the carrying of guns in national parks was tacked on to last year’s credit card reform bill by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK). Obama signed the bill after Democrats conceded they didn’t have the political momentum to fight a battle over gun laws.
Moran said he remains committed to gun control in the statement, but there was also a “what are you gonna do?” quality to his words.
“I maintain my belief that firearms do not belong in national parks,” he said. “But unfortunately, that’s now the law of the land.”
Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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