Nevada supported gun bill

WASHINGTON -- The House passed an amendment last week that will allow people to bring loaded and concealed weapons into national parks and wildlife refuges.

Lawmakers voted 279-147 for the gun measure that was piggybacked on a bill that aimed to strengthen credit card protections for consumers. The credit card/gun bill previously was approved by the Senate, and President Barack Obama signed it into law on Friday.

As a result beginning in February licensed gun owners will be allowed to carry loaded firearms into federal parks where it is permitted by state law. It reverses a 1983 ban that required weapons to be stored away or disassembled.

The Bush administration tried to change the Reagan-era regulations, but it was blocked by a federal judge in March.

Gun rights advocates said the bill protects the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. They said it also removes red tape that has allowed guns to be carried in state parks, in national forests and on Bureau of Land Management property but not in the national parks.

Critics said allowing loaded guns will make national parks less safe. Some called the amendment, which passed with 105 Democratic votes and 174 Republican votes, a cave-in to the powerful National Rifle Association.

"If you think that it's okay to carry guns in national parks, why not carry them into the National Cemetery, into the national White House, into the national Capitol, into the National Arboretum," said Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif.

"We talk a lot about pork in this House," Farr said. "I think this is an act of chicken."

Reps. Shelley Berkley and Dina Titus, both D-Nev., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., voted for the gun amendment.

The Senate vote on the gun amendment, which was taken on May 12, was 67-29. Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., voted for it.

CREDIT CARD PROTECTIONS FINALIZED

Congress finalized the credit card bill that supporters said would curb abusive practices by banks at a time when consumers are using plastic more than ever to cope with the recession.

The bill will bar interest rate hikes on existing balances except where card holders fail to make a payment for 60 days. It will require customers to be given 45 days notice of any rate increases and forbid increases in the first year of the account.

It also eliminates credit cards for people under 21 unless an adult co-signs.

In signing the bill into law, Obama said it would "put a stop to rate hikes without rhyme or reason."

Opponents said the restrictions will only lead banks to reinstate annual fees and impose other charges, restrict credit or raise interest rates even on good customers.

The House passed the credit card bill by a 361-64 vote. Berkley and Titus voted for it. Heller voted against it.

The Senate vote was 90-5. Reid voted for the bill. Ensign did not vote.

FUNDING WITHHELD FOR GUANTANAMO SHUTDOWN

The Senate voted to withhold $80 million requested by Obama to dismantle the Guantanamo Bay prison until the president comes up with a detailed plan for the shut down.

The amendment by Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, sought to blunt Republican attacks over Obama's vow to shutter the Guantanamo camp. Republicans charge Obama has left it unclear what would happen to detainees housed at the Navy prison in Cuba, suggesting they could be brought into the United States.

The vote was 90-6 to withhold funding for now. Reid and Ensign voted to withhold the money.

The vote came as the Senate debated, and eventually passed, a $91.3 billion supplemental spending bill. Most of the funds would go for continuing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Contact Stephens Media Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephens media.com or 202-783-1760.