	Current and Proposed Corps Firearms Policy

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages numerous water resource projects, such as dams and locks, across the United States. The regulation applies at Corps projects regardless of their location in states allowing open or concealed carry of loaded firearms. Roughly half of Corps fee-owned lands are open for hunting, and there are a small number of authorized shooting ranges. Section 327.13 prohibits private (i.e., non-law enforcement) individuals from possessing loaded firearms, ammunition, loaded projectile firing devices, bows and arrows, crossbows, or other weapons at Corps-administered water resource projects, unless they are being used
for hunting (with devices unloaded when being transported to hunting sites), at authorized shooting ranges, or with written permission of the Corps District Commander. Corps regulations allow loaded firearms only for hunting purposes in areas open to hunting or at designated shooting areas. The regulations for hunting at Corps projects are set out in Title 36, Section 327.8, of the Code of Federal Regulations , which states that "hunting is permitted except in areas and during periods where prohibited by the District Commander" and "all applicable Federal, State and local laws regulating these activities apply on project lands and waters, and shall be regulated by authorized enforcement officials as prescribed in 327.26." Of its 8.8 million acres of Corps fee-owned land, roughly half is open to hunting. That is, roughly 4.4 million acres of Corps land is closed to hunting but open to the public; on this land, Corps regulations restrict loaded firearms but allow unloaded firearms. 2046 , the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act, H.R. 3590 , Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act of 2013, and Section 103 of S. 1335 , the Sportsmen's Act) would have banned the Secretary of the Army from promulgating or enforcing regulations that prohibit individuals from possessing firearms (including assembled or functional firearms) at Corps projects. However, individuals still would have been prohibited from possessing a firearm at a "federal facility" as identified under Title 18, Section 930, of the United States Code and in project areas restricted to the public pursuant to Title 16, Section 460d, of the United States Code . 111-24 made it legal for individuals to possess firearms at National Park Service (NPS) and National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) units. They also saw the proposed legislation as providing for consistent treatment of open and concealed firearms possession within a state, providing for recreational shooting and self-defense, and protecting the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment of the Constitution. Other stakeholders raised concerns that the proposed legislation ignored implementation challenges at Corps projects that are not generally faced at NPS and NWRS units (e.g., presence of critical facilities, limited law enforcement authority) and that enactment could have produced unintended public safety and infrastructure security issues. Existing Corps regulations (36 C.F.R. In contrast, Congress has limited enforcement by Corps rangers to issuing citations for violations of regulations. That is, no armed federal law enforcement authorities responsible for maintaining public safety and security would have been at Corps projects, a continuation of the status quo. The 113 th Congress considered legislation that would have eliminated the Secretary of the Army's ability to enforce or promulgate regulations restricting the possession of loaded firearms in areas of its projects that are open to the public, as long as an individual is lawfully permitted to possess a firearm and such possession is in compliance with state law. Possession of firearms, however, would have remained prohibited at a "federal facility" consistent with Title 18, Section 930, of the United States Code . For the roughly 4.4 million acres that are open to hunting or designated as shooting ranges, the proposed legislation, if enacted, apparently would have essentially lifted the restriction that possession of a loaded firearms be limited for use in hunting or for shooting at designated shooting ranges. That is, under the proposed legislation, consistent with state law and firearms restrictions in Title 18, Section 930, of the United States Code , loaded firearms would have been allowed at all Corps project areas open to the public.
As part of its civil works mission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages water resource projects. Areas behind and below Corps dams and around Corps locks, levees, and waterways are popular recreation sites, attracting 370 million visits annually. Corps projects are some of the most densely used federal recreation sites. Title 36, Section 327, of the Code of Federal Regulations sets out the regulations for public use of Corps projects. Section 327.13 generally prohibits possession of loaded firearms by private (i.e., non-law enforcement) individuals at Corps-administered projects unless the firearms are being used for hunting at designated areas (with devices required to be unloaded while transported to and from the hunting areas) or for shooting at authorized shooting ranges. The regulation applies at projects regardless of their location in states allowing open or concealed carry of loaded firearms.
Corps lands with public access are open for hunting unless designated as closed for hunting (36 C.F.R. §327.8). Roughly half (4.4 million acres) of Corps fee-owned land is closed to hunting but open to the public; on these lands, Corps regulations allow unloaded firearms and prohibit loaded firearms. The other half of Corps fee-owned land is open to hunting or shooting in designated shooting areas; Corps regulations allow loaded firearms for hunting in areas open to hunting or shooting in designated shooting areas.
Legislation proposed in the 113th Congress (e.g., H.R. 2046, the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act; Section 103 of S. 1335, the Sportsmen's Act) would have banned the Secretary of the Army from promulgating or enforcing regulations that prohibit individuals from possessing firearms, including assembled or functional firearms, at Corps projects. The proposed language would have required firearms possession to comply with state law. Supporters saw the proposed legislation as addressing a patchwork of regulations restricting firearms on federal lands, providing consistency for open and concealed firearms possession within a state, and facilitating recreational shooting and self-defense. They argued that enactment would result in Corps policies consistent with legislation that made it legal for individuals to possess firearms at National Park Service (NPS) and National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) units of the Department of the Interior (DOI). Other stakeholders were concerned that the proposed legislation could have produced unintended safety and security issues. No armed federal law enforcement officers are commissioned for public safety and security purposes at Corps projects. Corps rangers issue citations for regulatory violations and are not allowed to carry firearms. Most law enforcement at Corps projects is provided by local and state personnel.
The issue for the 113th Congress was not only whether to alter the Corps firearms regulations but also how to maintain public safety and infrastructure security at Corps projects. The proposed language would have eliminated the Secretary of the Army's ability to enforce or promulgate regulations on firearms restrictions in areas of Corps projects that are open to the public if possession were in compliance with state law. However, individuals still would have had to comply with Title 18, Section 930, of the United States Code, which restricts possession of firearms at a "federal facility," and the agency still would have been able to restrict public access to project areas under its authority in Title 16, Section 460d, of the United States Code. Therefore, which Corps facilities qualify as a "federal facility" under Title 18, Section 930, of the United States Code becomes a topic of interest. Under the proposed legislation, consistent with state law and firearms restrictions in Title 18, Section 930, of the United States Code, loaded firearms would have been allowed at all Corps project areas open to the public.