Author Topic: Lawsuit against state park ban  (Read 28456 times)

ChrisCar

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 117
Re: Lawsuit against state park ban
« Reply #30 on: January 03, 2018, 07:54:45 PM »
Apparently the State has already tried to undo the ruling (at least to some extent).    According to the article, the new regs do not apply to permit holders (I haven't read them myself). 

The following was printed in the News Journal on 12/26/2017. (http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2017/12/28/state-officials-respond-court-ruling-partial-gun-ban-parks/986835001/)


State officials have written a new version of a gun ban in state parks and forests following a recent state Supreme Court decision declaring a full ban unconstitutional.

The state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and state Department of Agriculture published emergency regulations this week, about three weeks after Supreme Court justices shot down the decades-old ban.

The revised rules outline specific places within parks and forests, such as visitor centers, group camping areas and lodges, where it will be illegal to carry weapons.

Both agencies said that without the temporary regulations the court’s ruling means “firearms would essentially be unregulated.”

“A risk of harm from gunfire would be presented in these and other areas where visitors gather, including families and children,” state cabinet secretaries wrote in orders accompanying the regulations.

"The Supreme Court thought our regulations were too broad," DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin said in a phone interview. "We're complying with the Supreme Court's decision and want to make sure that there's a complete understanding of what can happen in our parks as it relates to firearms."

The updated ban excludes Delaware residents with valid permits to carry concealed deadly weapons and active or retired law enforcement officers, provided they show their license or credentials to park authorities.

The new rules also state people can apply for daily approval from the DNREC Secretary to carry weapons if they can show “good cause related to self-defense or the defense of family, and due regard for the safety of others.”

For decades, DNREC and the Department of Agriculture completely banned firearms, as well as slingshots and archery equipment, in state parks and forests.

On Dec. 7, Delaware Supreme Court justices ruled 3-2 to reverse the Superior Court’s 2016 decision to uphold the ban. The issue reached the courts through a 2015 lawsuit filed by the Bridgeville Rifle and Pistol Club, Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association and several individual plaintiffs.

The justices wrote in their December decision that state agencies had no authority to pass regulations that contradict residents’ rights under the state Constitution and that “the regulations completely eviscerate a core right to keep and bear arms for defense of self and family outside the home – a right this court has already recognized.”

The Supreme Court decision quashed the bans instituted in the 1960s and 1970s, which excluded weapons used for hunting in approved areas.

Weapons used for hunting in permitted areas and seasons are still allowed, but state officials have developed emergency regulations in light of a recent state Supreme Court ruling nixing a decades-old ban on other firearms in state parks and forests.

Weapons used for hunting in permitted areas and seasons are still allowed, but state officials have developed emergency regulations in light of a recent state Supreme Court ruling nixing a decades-old ban on other firearms in state parks and forests.

Wilmington-based attorney Francis Pileggi, who represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said Thursday he had not yet seen the emergency regulations.

“I will review them closely to make an independent determination whether they comply with the Supreme Court’s recent decision,” he said in a phone interview.

Thomas Shellenberger, a Delaware attorney who has been following the case, also said the state’s response to the court ruling was news to him.

“The court found that this is a constitutionally protected right, and you have to have more than just a good idea to strip people of their Constitutional rights in Delaware,” the Hockessin resident said. “You certainly hope that you’re not going to get mugged in a park but criminals don’t set boundaries.”

Shellenberger said with the previous ban, people would have no idea that as a concealed carry permit holder they were violating the law while walking in public places like Auburn Heights Preserve in Yorklyn legally carrying a weapon.

He said the rewritten rules raise some red flags. He said the agencies' claim that firearms are completely unregulated in parks and forests because of the court's ruling is inaccurate.

"All the existing state and federal laws would be in full force in those areas," he said, noting overarching laws regarding brandishing guns and carrying concealed weapons without a permit, among others.

"All those laws apply in the state parks like they do everywhere else in Delaware," Shellenberger said. "There's no emergency need for the regulations, contrary to the claim."

Shellenberger said the revision allowing Delaware residents with permits to carry concealed deadly weapons excludes people from other states, such as Kentucky, who - if properly licensed – are permitted to carry concealed weapons in Delaware according to a reciprocal law. It also requires them to show their license to "parks authorities."

The emergency regulations are valid for 120 days, and then can be renewed for another 60 days. Both agencies said in a press release they plan to propose new, permanent regulations. 
New Castle County
DE CCDW,  PA LTCF,  UT CFP
NRA Benefactor Member
DSSA Member

kent

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 129
Re: Lawsuit against state park ban
« Reply #31 on: January 04, 2018, 11:17:25 AM »
I stopped into a State Park office to renew my Park pass and I asked the question, "What are the rules for Concealed Carry in State Parks". I was told the Person that is carrying concealed MUST contact a Park Ranger and notify him/her that they are carrying a concealed weapon and Must show their CCDW Permit. This Must be done as soon as the Permit carrier enters the Park. I assume you have to ride around the park until you find a Park Ranger before you take a walk in the Park or light the BBQ.
NRA BENEFACTOR MEMBER
DSSA LIFE MEMBER
KENT COUNTY

topper

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 228
Re: Lawsuit against state park ban
« Reply #32 on: January 04, 2018, 12:33:54 PM »
Blackbird Forest has many unmanned tracts. I walk my dog in some of these areas. How do I notify a Ranger if it is unmanned?

I called in to report a rabid raccoon one time at Lums Pond. I told the lady at the park office that I reported it too that I'd hang around till someone arrived so I could show them where it was. I was told it might be quite awhile before anyone got there. (In other words, they didn't care if it was rabid or not, they weren't in a hurry.) When I drove to the office, she told me it probably wasn't really rabid. I haven't been back since. I don't believe there was a Ranger in the park anyway.

I bet if I told them there was someone open carrying a gun they would have responded pretty quick.
Laws that forbid the carrying of arms…disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes…

USAF Vietnam Era Veteran
Army National Guard
Civil Air Patrol
NRA Life Time Member
DE CCW
PA CCW

lynch

  • Life Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 298
Re: Lawsuit against state park ban
« Reply #33 on: January 04, 2018, 02:15:00 PM »
And will these park rangers be taking names, etc. when you show them a permit?
Are they going to follow you around if they know you have a firearm?
Sheesh.
DE ccdw
PA  LTCF
Utah CFP
NRA member

Cbmarine

  • Life Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1396
  • III Marine Amphib Corps. My dad’s shoulder patch
Re: Lawsuit against state park ban
« Reply #34 on: January 04, 2018, 07:41:53 PM »
And will these park rangers be taking names, etc. when you show them a permit?
Are they going to follow you around if they know you have a firearm?
Sheesh.
IMHO, the Park office staffers are told to, and will, quote the party line. Actually the emergency reg says:
21.1.4 "showing license to Park authorities"
21.1.7 "shall display identification upon entry and upon request"

In neither paragraph does it specify "Ranger". If I see a Park Ranger, I'll introduce myself. If the entrance is staffed, I'll display my permit.  I expect that Park Rangers will have more urgent matters to consider.
Just a smelly deplorable dreg of society clinging to God and guns.
New Castle County
_..  .  _._   _..  ..._ _  .  ._.

SteveMiller

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 152
Re: Lawsuit against state park ban
« Reply #35 on: January 04, 2018, 11:26:29 PM »
I guess I am wondering if they have a legal authority now to enforce a rule that they make up that doesn’t apply to the rest of Delaware
Steve Miller
DSSA
NRA Life Member
Gun Owners of America

563jack

  • Guest
Re: Lawsuit against state park ban
« Reply #36 on: January 05, 2018, 05:58:46 PM »
Well the new emergency regulations are temporary. Wilmington-based attorney Francis Pileggi, who represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said Thursday he had not yet seen the emergency regulations.

“I will review them closely to make an independent determination whether they comply with the Supreme Court’s recent decision,” he said in a phone interview.

Shellenberger said the rewritten rules raise some red flags. He said the agencies' claim that firearms are completely unregulated in parks and forests because of the court's ruling is inaccurate.

"All the existing state and federal laws would be in full force in those areas," he said, noting overarching laws regarding brandishing guns and carrying concealed weapons without a permit, among others.

"All those laws apply in the state parks like they do everywhere else in Delaware," Shellenberger said. "There's no emergency need for the regulations, contrary to the claim."

Shellenberger said the revision allowing Delaware residents with permits to carry concealed deadly weapons excludes people from other states, such as Kentucky, who - if properly licensed – are permitted to carry concealed weapons in Delaware according to a reciprocal law. It also requires them to show their license to "parks authorities."

The emergency regulations are valid for 120 days, and then can be renewed for another 60 days. Both agencies said in a press release they plan to propose new, permanent regulations.

I hope they hold open discussions on this and remain open to public opinion.

Clarence

  • Life Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1672
  • Liberty and Independence
Re: Lawsuit against state park ban
« Reply #37 on: January 05, 2018, 10:20:05 PM »
Hold open Discussions?. 😂  Dream on!
DE MD PA VA FL ccw. NRA Life Member. DSSA member. Sussex County

Quod non me necat me fortiorem facit.