Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 5, 1995 TAG: 9505050094
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Craig, a board member of the National Rifle Association, says people are increasingly frightened by the presence of ``an armed federal entity'' in the West.
``There has always been a healthy suspicion of the federal agent. Now there is developing a healthy fear, especially if the agent is armed,'' Craig told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Craig said guns are not needed at the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management or Fish and Wildlife Service. He said he would maintain some armed law officers at the National Park Service because that agency ``is a manager of people as much as a protector of property.''
He said Thursday there was no inconsistency in his defense of the right to bear arms at a time he was calling for disarming federal agents.
``The Second Amendment applies to private citizens. We have always controlled and determined who packs a gun as a law enforcement officer,'' he said.
The senator said the agencies originally asked for money to arm law officers to fight drug trafficking. ``They didn't need them before and they don't need them now,'' he said.
Spokesman Bryan Wilkes said Craig has no plans to introduce legislation regarding the guns but is reviewing the overall law enforcement organization at the Forest Service.
About 6,700 law officers carry guns for Interior Department agencies, department spokesman Jamie Workman said Thursday. They include the National Park Service, 3,200; Bureau of Indian Affairs, 2,260; Fish and Wildlife Service, 1,000; Bureau of Land Management, 251; and Bureau of Reclamation, 14.
The senator was most upset about Fish and Wildlife Service agents who recently tried to serve a federal warrant on an Idaho man in the investigation of a shooting of a wolf protected by the Endangered Species Act.
``What happens in the West when all of the sudden they see these folks in the Forest Service and BLM being armed and carrying arms, they grow frightened. They go to a public hearing, and standing around the room are armed Forest Service and BLM people,'' Craig said Wednesday.
Forest Service spokesman Alan Polk said the agency would not respond to Craig's comments.
Craig made initial comments about disarming law officers on federal forests and wildlife refuges during an interview with the AP Wednesday about citizen militias and property-rights groups in the West.
``What I'm trying to express is a growing frustration in the West amongst the private citizens of the increasing presence of an armed federal entity in the states where you have these resource agencies,'' Craig said.
Former BLM Director Jim Baca joined environmentalists Tuesday in urging the Justice Department to step up an investigation into possible links between militias and militant defenders of private property.
Craig said there was no such link. He said conflicts between land owners and federal officers in the West are due in part to what he views as the aggressive nature of federal agents and their unwillingness to work with local authorities.
by CNB