Cg Letter Apr 19 02

Commandant United States Coast Guard

2100 SecondStreet,S.W. Washington,DC 20593-0001 Staff Symbol:G-MO Phone: (202) 267-2201 Fax: (202) 267-4839

167t3

Am I s 2002

Mr. Don Hamrick 5860 Wilburn Road Wilburn, AR 72179 Dear Mr. Hamrick:

This is to addressyour appealof a decisionby the CommandingOfficer, Coast Guard National Maritime Center concerningyour Merchant Mariner's Document. ln your letter of'19 January2002, you applied to have your Merchant Mariner's Document endorsed'oNationalOpen Carry Handgun." The Commanding Officer, Coast Guard National Maritime Centerreplied to you in his letter of 22 February,denying your application. You appealedthat decision in your letter of 16 March to Secretaryof TransportationNorman Y. Mineta, and supplementedyour appealwith your letter of 29 March, also to SecretaryMineta. Your appealwas forwarded to me for final agencyaction as outlined in 46 CFR 1.03-15(l). I am impressedwith your scholarship and zealrn formulating argumentsin support of your application for a "National Open Carry Handgun" endorsementon your Merchant Mariner's Document,but I am not persuadedto agreewith you. As you have noted, the laws and regulationsdo not provide for such an endorsementnor do they prohibit it. Instead,the matter is left to my judgment. My decision,after consideringall the material you have submitted,is that it would not be in the best interestof marine safety or securityto initiate the endorsementyou have applied for. Your appealis thereforedenied and the CommandingOfficer, National Maritime Centeris directed not to place any endorsementsregarding firearms on any merchantrnariner's licensesor documents. This decision constitutesfinal agencyaction as cited above. Sincereiy,

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Captaih,U-S,.4oastGuard Director-Tf Field Activiti es Marine Safety, Security and Environmental Protection