Federal government to lift restrictions on guns in national parks

[alp227]

Source: Ed O'Keefe, The Washington Post

The federal government will lift long-standing restrictions on guns in national parks Monday, meaning that visitors with proper permits could pack heat along with camping and picnic gear to most of the 392 parks. The move concerns current and former employees of the National Park Service who are convinced that the move will damage the spirit of the nation's park system.

Depending on state gun laws, visitors will be able to carry concealed and loaded guns into parks, the Park Service said.

The District bans people from carrying firearms; Maryland law allows gun owners with permits to carry handguns and rifles. Virginia allows for open and concealed carrying with proper permits and has reciprocity agreements with 30 states.

West Virginia, home to Harpers Ferry National Historical Site, allows for open carrying but requires a state permit for concealed firearms.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/18/AR2010021805124.html

[bluestateguy]

1. It simply means the feds will respect state laws in National Parks

nt

[Dappleganger]

2. Exactly.

[tomm2thumbs]

3. maybe they should have put this provision in the healthcare bill to give it a Republican vote or 2

instead of putting it in a lackluster credit card bill with so many loopholes that costs are going to go up, not down

[onehandle]

4. There goes the neighborhood.

[spin]

5. This guy keeps popping up everyhere...

kinda like Tourist-guy.

[NewMoonTherian]

7. I disagree, but that's a hilarious pic! Thanks for posting. n/t

[proteus_lives]

17. Stereotypes.

Unsurprising from you.

[X_Digger]

6. Undoing what Reagan and James Watt did 26 years ago!

"Long-standing" makes one think 1800's or something.

Nah, I've got neck ties older than this POS :)

[DainBramaged]

8. You would think you could go one fecking place in this country without having to deal with guns

but no, the paranoid have to push the guns everywhere. Only TWENTY out of 392 parks will be gun free zones still. So one of the safest places in America now becomes an armed carry zone. I guess the gun 'enthusiasts' can now play Daniel Boone and fire away at all of the signs in National Parks like they do in most of the States where they can 'bear arms'.

And the feared boogie men don't hang out in National Parks, they can't afford to, so I guess we'll have to can that excuse. Or they can now claim self-defense when they shoot up all of the wildlife. And since there are so few Rangers, it will be interesting to see if everyone gets checked for proper permits, and even then the 'enthusiasts' will scream 'my rights are being violated'.


Gun 'enthusiasts', America's new persecuted minority. Merry Christmas all, but you can sort of figure out what I really want to say.

[armueller2001]

9. Boogie men don't hang out in national parks?

National parks are one of the country's safest areas? LOL

I recall seeing a study in which Park Rangers had higher murder rates than any other law enforcement occupation. Combine that with spotty cell phone reception if any at all, as well as the threat of bears or mountain lions... yep, seems like national parks are actually one of the highest priority places that a firearm may be needed to defend oneself.

[DainBramaged]

12. Like I said, whatever it takes for you folks to justify carrying your guns, you'll find a study

:eyes:

[Katya Mullethov]

15. Absolutely

Keep talkin .

[Tim01]

10. Your facts are actually backwards. You don't know what you are talking about. nt

[DainBramaged]

11. Really, shooting from the LIP again?

As of Monday, guns will be allowed in all but about 20 of the park service’s 392 locations, including some of its most iconic parks: Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Yosemite and Rocky Mountain National Park. Guns will not be allowed in visitor centers or rangers’ offices, because firearms are banned in federal buildings, but they could be carried into private lodges or concession stands, depending on state laws.

“It really is sad that we’ve become such a paranoid society that people want to take guns pretty much everywhere — including national parks,”


The National Park Service said there were 3,760 reported major crimes, including five homicides and 37 rapes, in 2008, the most recent year for which data was available. The agency does not note which crimes involve firearms. Crime is down across the system’s parks, according to park service spokesman David Barna. National parks hosted about 275 million visitors in 2008, the agency said.





http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35484383/ns/us_news-life/


Amazingly low crime rate for such a cross-section of the population.

[Tim01]

13. Lots of crime for such sparce population. Check your facts again. nt

[Euromutt]

14. Seriously, when and how do you have to "deal with guns" on a more than sporadic basis?

Do you work at a gun shop or a firing range or something? Are you a military or police armorer, or a gunsmith? The way you harp on about how much you have to be around guns, that's about the plausible explanation. The only guns I see on a near-daily basis (apart from my own) are those carried by cops.

[benEzra]

16. Yeah, those double-size plastic cutaway teaching models

are SOOOOO dangerous. I mean, you could give somebody a BRUISE with one!!!!!



Hint: That's not a gun. It's a plastic model twice actual size, for instructors to use in teaching how the mechanism works. It's hilarious (and a little disturbing) that the media is running pictures of it as if it's a big scawwy gun.

Here's the ammunition it uses, I guess...

[proteus_lives]

19. Nonsense.

A typical overreaction.

"You would think you could go one fecking place in this country without having to deal with guns"

:eyes: I could name a thousand off the top of my head.

BTW, that's a dishonest photo to use.

[proteus_lives]

18. Good!

Our rights become more secure every day and gun control is swept into the dustbin. (Where it belongs.)