With 67 aye votes, the Senate approved by a wide margin yesterday an amendment to the credit card bill that will restore concealed carry rights in national parks. You might remember that the Bush administration issued an 11th hour order allowing persons with concealed carry permits to carry in national parks, which have traditionally been firearms-free. A federal judge earlier this year issued an injunction to halt concealed carry in the parks pending a lawsuit by the Brady campaign and other plaintiffs.
Anyway, it seems that Tennessee’s Lamar Alexander voted against the amendment.
UPDATE: Michael Silence points out that Alexander was the only Senate Republican to vote against the measure, and obtains a statement from Alexander’s office:
I have consistently been a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights, but this legislation goes too far - further than President Reagan, further than President Bush, and further than Tennessee law.
Meanwhile, as Tennessee lawmakers wait to see whether Gov. Phil Bredesen will sign a bill allowing handgun carry permit holders to carry in restaurants and bars that serve food, from SayUncle comes the plea of a woman whose husband was recently murdered in a sports bar. He did not have a carry permit, but she did. She says if her gun had been on her person instead of locked in her car (as required by law), her husband might still be alive.
May 13th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Well Lamar “RINO” Alexander shows his true colors again. However, bad as I hate to say it, we are better off in TN (and way way better off in Washington) with two semi-conservative Republicans than we would be with one semi-conservative Republican and one Democrat senator from TN. And I think it is probably too much to hope for that a true conservative could be elected Senator in TN - sure it could easily happen in East TN but not in West TN and maybe not in Middle TN.
But give me a chance to vote against Alexander and I will regardless. I just do not like him and never have except for the brief time he was pushing his original plan to hold teachers responsible for the effectiveness of the teaching (before it was reformed by the teachers union).
May 13th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
How on earth can that man vote on something as important as it was to not listen to the very folks that put him in that office??? Well I tell him one thing,he has lost 2 votes from us.We will remember,not like he did though!!!!
Gary & Diane Scallorn
Hermitage Tn.
May 13th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
He will wish he had listened to the very people that gave him his office!! I don’t beleive he is out of politics yet?? He had trouble hearing what the voters said, I promise I won’t forget!!!!!!
Gary & Diane Scallorn
Hermitage Tn
May 15th, 2009 at 9:25 am
[...] Alexander votes against guns in national parks More here. Here’s the vote. AP story. Another story. It appears he was the lone Republican voting against it. [...]
May 16th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Give me a viable conservative Republican primary opponent to Alexander and I’ll vote for the new guy. But I have to agree with twiceguessing: we’re better off with two semi-conservative Republicans than one “R” and one “D”.
I am hoping against hope that Alexander’s statement was drafted by an aide and he doesn’t really think that law-abiding carry permit holder will become outlaws when we go into a National Park. Does he honestly think that they are crime-free zones now? A lot of the smoke in the Smokeys is from meth labs