 Biden Administration Announces Plans to Slash Target Shooting Access in Arizona This week, President Biden's Department of the Interior published a Notice of Intent to reexamine public shooting access on the Sonoran Desert National Monument. Among the proposals is a plan that would prevent access to hundreds of thousands of acres that are currently open to recreational shooting – this would amount to a nearly 90% reduction in current access. In 2018, the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") approved a Target Shooting Resource Management Plan Amendment ("RMPA") that opened over 435,000 acres of the Sonoran Desert National Monument for target shooting. These expanded opportunities for recreational shooters in Arizona to lawfully and safely exercise their Second Amendment rights was a significant victory. Now, the Biden Administration is looking to reverse this. This latest action comes in the wake of the Department of the Interior entering into a settlement agreement with several extremist environmental groups. This action is also just the latest in a string of decisions by the Biden Administration to cede decision-making authority to these extreme groups at the expense of law-abiding gun owners and recreationists. For years, many of these groups have sought to erode the rights of hunters and target shooters to access public lands. Just last year, a federal judge sided with NRA-ILA and held that hunters can continue to use traditional ammunition on federal lands. Yet, these groups move forward with attempts to prevent expanded hunting and fishing opportunities on federal public lands. If there was any doubt left as to how the Biden Administration will treat law-abiding gun owners, hunters, and recreational shooters, this latest action puts it to rest. It also highlights the importance of the upcoming November election, as pro-Second Amendment majorities in the U.S. Congress will provide a check against an unbalanced executive branch. NRA-ILA will continue to monitor this process and determine the best course of action to protect the rights of our members and all law-abiding gun owners in Arizona. You can submit comments in opposition to any recreational shooting access closure on the Sonoran Desert National Monument to the BLM by September 23, 2022 here. It's important to keep the following in mind when submitting comments:
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