A troubling report from David Codrea…
If a bunch of hippies want to set up a little city somewhere and have a good old time, that’s their prerogative. But since when do Federal agencies have the ability to suspend Constitutional rights on a whim at these locations?
BLM declares Burning Man Second Amendment-free zone
The Bureau of Land Management has declared the Burning Man “radical self-expression/self-reliance” community “experiment” in northern Nevada’s Black Rock Desert a temporary weapons-free zone, GunLeaders Blog reported today. Citing a Department of the Interior “Notice of Temporary Closure and Temporary Restrictions of Specific Uses on Public Lands in Pershing County, NV” appearing in the Federal Register Volume 77, Number 157 (Tuesday, August 14, 2012), the edict mandates “temporary closures and temporary restrictions will be in effect from August 13, 2012 to September 17, 2012.
Proclaiming its authority under 43 CFR 8364.1., and issued by Gene Seidlitz, District Manager, Winnemucca District, the restriction notice declared “The possession of any weapon is prohibited except weapons within motor vehicles passing through the public closure area, without stopping, on the west or east playa roads.
“The prohibitions above shall not apply to county, state, tribal, and Federal law enforcement personnel, or any person authorized by Federal law to possess a weapon,” the notice continued. “‘Art projects’ that include weapons and are sanctioned by BRC LLC will be permitted after obtaining authorization from the BLM authorized officer.”
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Indeed. If unaccountable self-anointed masters are allowed to get away with arbitrary rulings, if their demands for kneejerk authority over our unalienable rights are tolerated, then what is to stop them from declaring any place off limits, and extending the time period to whatever interval they choose, that is, what is to stop them from effectively burning the Bill of Rights?
