OUR VIEW: Congress works to reopen gun ranges (poll)

Gun owners have been shafted for years, and a bill introduced in the United States House of Representatives on Friday stands to change things for the better.

Hunters, recreational shooters and other gun owners pay an 11 percent excise tax, established under the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, on ammunition and other hunting and shooting equipment. It generates more than $700 million each year that is supposed to establish, restore and protect wildlife habitats and provide for hunter education. That means gun owners pay a tremendous amount toward maintaining and improving public lands, such as our national forests and properties governed by the Bureau of Land Management.

Bikers, hikers and other enjoy these lands and benefit from taxes that are paid only by shooters.

So how does the federal government repay the gun owners? By shutting down shooting ranges in national forests with every excuse they can find. Both forest shooting ranges near Colorado Springs have been closed for years. Federal authorities claim the ranges are dangerous, even though they are statistically far safer than all other recreation facilities in the forests. They claim the ranges are poorly maintained, which results from willful neglect by the National Forest Service. When asked to reopen and provide reasonable oversight and maintenance of the ranges, National Forest Service officials claim poverty.

Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colorado, has worked to help peacefully resolve issues between the Forest Service and gun owners. In June he introduced SB1249, known as the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act. Udall hopes the bill will get a hearing in the Environment and Public Works Committee. A companion bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on Friday.

The Udall-inspired bills would amend the Pittman-Robertson Act to allow proceeds of the tax to fund up to 90 percent of expanding or constructing shooting ranges on federal or nonfederal land. The law allows Pittman-Robertson to pay for 75 percent of a shooting range, but all funds allocated to a state must be spent in one fiscal year. The amendment would allow funds to accrue for five years, facilitating the development of a substantial pool to fund gun range expansion and construction.

(Should Congress help reopen gun ranges? Vote to the right. Must vote to see results. Thanks!)

“Sportsmen across Colorado are losing access to safe, well-maintained public shooting ranges, especially in El Paso County where per capita gun ownership is the second highest in the state,” Udall told The Gazette in an email on Friday. “That doesn’t make sense. By creating public shooting ranges where Coloradans can go to safely shoot, we promote responsible gun ownership and enjoyment of the outdoors, which are part of our Colorado heritage.

“That’s why I introduced the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act. It would help ensure that there are enough accessible ranges. And it does so at no additional cost to the taxpayer. My bill would increase the flexibility states have to use the funds they already get from the federal government to create and improve public shooting ranges.  With enough support from my colleagues in Congress, we can increase and improve opportunities for safe recreational shooting, especially in places where they are needed the most, like El Paso County.”

An aide to Sen. Udall said he has reason to believe that President Barack Obama will sign the bill into law if it makes it through the House and Senate. If the bill passes before the 2012 election, while Obama is trying to build broad-based support, the aide is probably correct.

Today, Congress is rightly obsessed with trying to resolve our government’s debt crisis to free our economy to once again thrive. That means getting others in Congress to pay attention to these bills could be difficult. While the economy is most important, other aspects of life go on.

Thank Sen. Udall for this creative and workable plan to restore our shooting ranges. More importantly, be sure to ask our Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican who supports gun rights, to enthusiastically promote this proposed amendment to the Pittman-Robetson Act. Reach Rep. Lamborn at: 202-225-4422 or 719-520-0055.

Guns, gun owners and gun rights — which necessitate practice ranges — are essential to maintaining freedom and prosperity in the United States. Let’s help get this done.

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