A group of House Republicans is calling on the Department of War to protect U.S. citizens’ Second Amendment rights on one of its agency’s federal lands.
Two dozen GOP lawmakers, led by Republican Texas Rep. Pat Fallon, penned a Tuesday letter to Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll asking him to direct the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) “to immediately finalize and implement” a rule change from President Donald Trump’s first administration. The updated guidance would allow Americans to carry firearms on the nearly 12 million acres of land the USACE manages, with respect to state laws.
“[W]hile most federal agencies respect the lawful exercise of Second Amendment rights on their managed lands, it is a different story for USACE-managed lands,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. They noted that the Corps “is the only major federal land management agency that still maintains a general prohibition on the lawful carry of firearms.”
The House members described that in 2009, Congress passed bipartisan legislation repealing federal restrictions on carrying firearms in lands under the control of the National Park Service. However, the Obama administration refused to also apply these changes to USACE lands.
“Now, millions of public lands remain subject to outdated restrictions that other agencies abandoned long ago,” the representatives wrote.
The USACE currently manages more than 11.7 million acres of land nationwide — a total that encompasses 90,000 campsites, 400 lake and river projects, and 4,000 miles of trails, according to the letter.
“Public lands form a complicated patchwork of jurisdictions with invisible boundaries that Americans cross every day. While the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management respect our Second Amendment rights, USACE lands remain an outdated exception,” Fallon told the DCNF in a statement.
”Finalizing this long-proposed rule is critical to align with state law and restore full constitutional protections on Corps lakes, trails, and campsites. American citizens deserve to exercise their God-given Second Amendment rights without arbitrary federal restrictions,” the congressman added.
The letter’s signatories included Fallon as well as Republican Reps. Brian Babin, Lance Gooden, Ronny Jackson and Nathaniel Moran of Texas, Nick Begich of Alaska, Buddy Carter of Georgia, Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, Mike Flood of Nebraksa, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Pat Harrigan of North Carolina, Tracey Mann of Kansas, Brian Mast and Jimmy Patronis of Florida, John McGuire of Virginia, Max Miller and David Taylor of Ohio, Barry Moore of Alabama, Burgess Owens of Utah, Jefferson Shreve of Indiana, Pete Stauber of Minnesota, Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania, Bruce Westerman of Arkansas and Ryan Zinke of Montana.
“Many constituents in our districts enjoy recreational activities on Corps-managed land and have reached out to express concerns over this restriction,” Fallon and his co-signatories went on to write in their letter. “These individuals fish on Corps-managed waterways but are unable to lawfully carry a firearm for self-defense purposes. These are often remote, rural areas with no law-enforcement presence to deter or prosecute crime.”
“Additionally, threats from wildlife are very real in these areas,” they emphasized. “An individual who is lawfully carrying a firearm should not be forced to disarm simply because they crossed an invisible federal line.”
Driscoll is also serving as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) after having replaced FBI Director Kash Patel in this role in April 2025.
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