A bill expanding public access to shooting ranges now sits on President Joe Biden’s desk.
The Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (Explore) Act was one of the last pieces of legislation to make it through Congress before the end of 2024. It passed by voice vote in the House and unanimous consent in the Senate late last week. The bill seeks to ensure there is at least one shooting range in every National Forest and Bureau of Land Management district in the country.
The White House did not answer whether President Biden would sign the bill. However, he has not publicly expressed opposition to the bipartisan legislation.
The bill’s passage is tangible evidence of broad bipartisan support for expanding recreational shooting and hunting opportunities. Of the 51 co-sponsors in the House, 27 were Democrats, and 24 were Republicans.
In addition to the range provisions, the Explore Act included a host of other outdoor recreation expansion efforts as well as new resources for young people and the disabled to access public lands. That helped it gain support from both gun-rights and conservation groups.
“This is a rare bipartisan victory during a very divided time in our country. Congress found common ground to improve outdoor accessibility for communities everywhere,” Jackie Ostfeld, director of Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All campaign, said in a statement. “For neighborhoods without a park in walking distance, for people with mobility issues, for kids who have yet to experience our country’s natural wonders, the EXPLORE Act will improve the lives of families everywhere.
“Overall, the EXPLORE Act promises to significantly contribute to America’s rich heritage of outdoor recreation on federal lands and waters,” the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action said in a post on its website.
The bill directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to identify one area suitable for a shooting range in every National Forest and Bureau of Land Management district over the next year. It requires them to consider state and local restrictions as well as the proximity to other recreational areas and private ranges. Within five years, they would have to build ranges on the sites they identified using pre-existing federal funds or contract with local or state authorities to build them.
The ranges will have to accommodate pistol and rifle fire as well as the safety infrastructure to support them, such as berms and a distinct firing line. They may also support trap, skeet, sporting clay, and archery facilities, but those aren’t required.
The gun industry is on board with the details of the proposal. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the industry’s trade group, credited Senators Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.), John Barrasso (R., Wyo.), Martin Heinrich (D., N.M.), and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson for getting the bill across the finish line.
“We are incredibly grateful that Congress recognized the public safety and recreational benefits of this legislation,” Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President, said in a statement. “This is a tremendous win for America’s gun owners and recreational target shooters and demonstrates what can be achieved when Congress works together for commonsense legislation that will improve access to safe firing ranges available to the public.”
NSSF said the bill will increase public access to “safe recreational shooting ranges, especially in rural areas.” It argued that was especially important given the FBI conducted over 70 million background checks on gun sales from 2020 through 2023. NSSF said those buyers, millions of whom are new gun owners, “are in need of safe and modern ranges to practice marksmanship skills.”
The Explore Act also requires the secretaries to report to Congress annually on ranges on federal lands.
“By passing the EXPLORE Act, the Senate is bringing us another step closer to ensuring safe, affordable, and equitable access to our parks and public lands,” Ostfeld said. “One thing is clear, spending time outdoors is something we can all agree on.”
