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Senator Enzi responds to appeals court decision |
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2006 Archived News by U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming
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Monday, March 20, 2006 |
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WASHINGTON, District of Columbia USA — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently decided that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) had not properly justified its decision to classify ammonium perchlorate composite propellant (APCP), a rocket propellant, as an explosive. The Court sent the matter back to the BATFE. The decision was made in response to a case filed by the National Association of Rocketry and Tripoli Rocketry Association. The BATFE is responsible for regulating explosives.
U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming, sponsored legislation in the 108th Congress that exempts users of certain model rocket propellents from explosive permit requirements. The bill was drafted with care to ensure that the exemption would only apply to non-detonable rocket propellant and would legitimize the hobby use of rockets.
"People who build and launch model rockets for fun should not have to give up their hobby due to an unnecessary set of obstacles and an unjustified claim which classifies rocket propellant as an explosive. This safe, mind-expanding activity offers many benefits to today's youth including increased interest in math, science, and space exploration while providing them with a fun recreational activity. While this decision is not the end, it gives rocketeers firmer footing and gets them closer to enjoying their hobby without having to bear the burden of unnecessary regulation. I hope the BATFE will see clear to give those law-abiding citizens the space they deserve and that in the end rocketeers will enjoy the same freedoms with their hobby as rock collectors and scrap-bookers enjoy with theirs," Enzi said upon learning of the court decision. |
