No-one needs a gun in a National Park.
I know this, because some people have said so repeatedly. National Parks are safe and no crime occurs in them.
Oops....
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/armed-guards-ensuring-safety-of-organ-pipe-tours/article_ff023cb3-993e-51e2-932d-9fac0015a356.html
Armed guards ensuring safety of Organ Pipe tours
QUITOBAQUITO - It was a tour of public lands with splendid scenery, a glib guide - and lethal firepower on hand just in case.
The tour last week - to Quitobaquito Spring at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument south of Ajo - was guarded by federal officers armed with assault rifles and other weapons.
Why?
"It's because of the perception that exposure to human and narcotics smugglers is a bad thing for the visiting public," said Matthew Vandzura, chief ranger at the monument on the Mexican border.
Sardius Stalker, a seasonal park ranger who led last week's tour, put it another way: "It's like going into a bad neighborhood" where protection by "armed escorts" is essential.
A quick glance back in time can help explain the need for armed protection on a public park tour.
The Quitobaquito site - a natural oasis in the desert fed by a gushing spring - and many other parts of the 330,689-acre monument have been closed to the public without escorts for much of the past decade.
Smuggling of people and drugs across monument lands had been increasing for years when a single event slammed home the hard fact of deadly danger in the area.
More at link.
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