Guns on Trails

In discussion of the village’s trails during the City Council’s study session on July 16, concerns were voiced about the allowance of weapons on the trails. While possession of firearms or other weapons is prohibited in parks, federal regulations require that they be permissible on trails. At the study session, there were questions as to why the federal government was able to force this policy upon the village and if here were any way to disobey. I, personally, believe that all weapons ought to be banned from city trails; however, I recognize that the national government has, under the constitution, the power to say otherwise and that Greenwood Village must comply with these laws.

There are several reasons why the federal government has this power. Firstly, the second amendment states that all citizens have the right to bear arms. While the government has the power to regulate guns, it cannot ban them in all cases, and this stipulation provides the basis for being able to have firearms on the trails. One might ask why weapons can be banned in parks but not on trails, and the reason is that trails are used for transportation, which brings us to the second reason the federal government can dictate that firearms be allowed on Greenwood Village trails.

The reason is that the federal government has the power, given by the constitution, to regulate interstate commerce. Even though local trails are not usually thought of as being related to commerce among states, several Supreme Court decisions have expanded its federal government has control over a broad range of issues under the guise of the commerce clause. The Gibbons v. Ogden decision stated that the movement of people could be a form of commerce. This meant that any and all roads, paths, and trails by which humans travelled or were transported among states could be regulated by Congress. After that, the Supreme Court decided over the course of several decisions that, even if interstate commerce was likely, Congress could regulate areas where there was a simple potential for commerce. Combining the two decisions, it means that the federal government has the power to regulate any area that could ever possibly be used as a mode of transport to get people from one state to another. Though it is unlikely that the village’s trails would be used to walk from Colorado to New Mexico, it is a possibility, so Congress can pass policy that affects it. For these reasons, the federal government has the power to demand that Greenwood Village allow weapons and firearms to be carried on its trails.