Committee hears bills to open public lands to shooting

Federal officials are eyeing shooting restrictions on more than a million acres of public land, half of which are in Arizona, said Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Mesa, who wants to block the restrictions. Flake’s measure was one of two Arizona shooting bills – along with Rep. Trent Frank’s proposal to transfer 315 acres of federal land in Mohave County to the state for use as a shooting range – taken up Tuesday by a House Natural Resources subcommittee. The National Rifle Association testified in support of both bills, saying their passage is important to protecting the Second Amendment. “You have to be able to exercise your rights,” said Susan Recce, NRA director of conservation, wildlife and natural resources. “If you don’t have places where you can practice your right, then it is a limited right.” Recce said the Bureau of Land Management’s actions show a bias against recreational shooting, a claim that BLM officials at the hearing denied. Flake’s bill, HR 3440, would limit BLM’s ability to close national monuments to recreational shooting to six months. The bill has 30 cosponsors, including Franks, R-Glendale, and Arizona Reps. Paul Gosar, R-Flagstaff, and David Schweikert, R-Scottsdale...more