Target practice

Flexing their muscles, gun owners won a major victory this week when the Obama administration backed off a proposal to restrict target shooting on millions of acres of public lands.

The retreat was the proper course -- but highlighted how the gun issue remains problematic for the Obama administration.

The proposal was shrouded in the cloak of safety, but in reality was part of a broader effort to limit civilian use of firearms on federal lands. The Bureau of Land Management already has in place provisions that allow it to weigh safety concerns when it comes to approved target-shooting areas.

In the end, complaints from groups such as Ducks Unlimited and the National Wildlife Foundation led the Department of Interior to conclude that the current regulatory structure would suffice.

"Based on feedback that members of the [advisory committee] have provided the BLM on the draft policy guidance, I am directing that the BLM take no further action to develop or implement the policy," wrote Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.

Target shooters -- particularly those in the Western United States -- have already seen their access to public lands dwindle considerably. Consider Clark County, where wide swaths of land once open for plinking or plunking are now considered off limits. Had the Obama administration pushed shooters off even more land, the White House risked being seen as hostile to millions of outdoor enthusiasts and gun owners -- a not so tiny political constituency.

Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., a loud critic of the Interior Department proposal, applauded the change of course. "But it would be a lot better for everyone if they stopped doing things to restrict gun rights that require them to back off in the first place," he told The Associated Press. "One thing is sure: You can't blink with these guys or they'll slip something through."

Good thing, then, that defenders of the Bill of Rights kept this one in their sights.