If you like to hunt or fish or compete in outdoor activities using knives or bows, you better be careful where you go and how you get there, according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.

Enzi wanted a debate on granting the same protections to those traveling with bows and knives on federal land that gun owners enjoy. The Senate majority leader, however, decided to block dozens of amendments from both Democrats and Republicans from being considered as part of a bi-partisan sportsmen’s package of bills.

Enzi said the Senate majority’s blocking of amendments to the sportsmen’s bill does a disservice to hunters and outdoorsmen all over the country.

“I’ve been working on an amendment with Senators Bennet, Flake, Risch, Sessions, Thune and others to allow bows and archery equipment to be transported through national parks. This bi-partisan effort is necessary because some bow hunters need to travel across national parks to get to the land they intend to hunt on. This is also a common sense amendment because it provides parity for bows and firearms,” said Enzi.

Enzi also offered an amendment with Senators Lee and Thune to ensure that those traveling with a properly secured knife are not prosecuted under local or state laws which ban certain knives.

Enzi also joined other senators in filing amendments that would:

• require the Department of Interior to suspend for 10 years a listing decision in states with approved or endorsed sage grouse management plans.
• prevent the EPA from regulating all bodies of water, no matter how small and regardless of whether the water is on public or private property.
• would allow folks to carry firearms on Army Corps of Engineers recreational property.
• make cabin user fees more affordable and predictable, allowing families to keep their cabins on Forest Service land which some have been for generations.
• Address the maintenance backlog at the National Park Service.

In his speech, Enzi noted that many of the amendments he sponsored or cosponsored are bipartisan, but the majority leader is insisting on making decisions for the 99 other senators on what ideas should get votes and what shouldn’t. Enzi said many of the senators now in office are new and they may think this is how the Senate is supposed to work, but it isn’t. 

“There is a better way,” he said.