December 6th, 2008
The long effort has paid off: Interior Department’s New Rule on Firearms Possession in National Parks
Q: Aren’t parks and refuges already safe places? If so, why allow people to carry concealed firearms?
A: America’s national parks and refuges are often safe places to visit, and our law enforcement officials are working to the best of their abilities and resources to maintain visitor safety. However, we also recognize that current statistics show an alarming increase in criminal activity on federal lands managed by the Department of the Interior, especially in areas close to the border and in lands that are not readily accessible by law enforcement authorities. In these circumstances, we do not believe it is appropriate to refuse to recognize state laws simply because a person enters the boundaries of a national park or wildlife refuge, or because there is a lesser chance that a visitor will be harmed or potentially killed by a criminal in a national park unit or wildlife refuge.
Glenn Reynolds says it’s “Another small, but real, step for civil rights.”
We’ll be hearing about how “now you’ll never know if that tourist next to you is carrying a death machine” from the Brady Bunch shortly. Of course, you never knew that yesterday, either.
UPDATE: SnarkyBytes:
This is a rule, and can be reversed, but something is better than nothing and this is a pretty big something.
Absolutely. In fact, getting reversed would probably end up kicking the effort up a notch. It’s that back-and-forth dynamic that is the process of how things get done.
December 6th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I can understand why people would be offended if they knew their fellow hikers and campers were packing, but I’ve always thought it was a sensible thing, carry a weapon just in case a bear or bigfoot decides to jump you.
Shows how addled my mind is right now. @__@
I should really be studying for my finals.
December 6th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I was thinking about bears too. Even black bears have been known to get aggressive around here.
December 7th, 2008 at 12:06 am
Forget bears, think of your fellow humans.
Mystery writer Nevada Barr, who is also an NPS park ranger, has written a successful series of crime novels … set in national parks.
Maybe she knows that they are not always safe places, even when you are away from the Mexican border, places like Organ Pipe Nat. Monument.
December 7th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
In the late 1980’s there was an escaped convict lurking in Grand Canyon National Park. He robbed several tourists at gunpoint with a large caliber handgun. He was on the loose for about six weeks, until the police located him in a town outside of the park. It is the human predators in the parks that you have to worry about. Usually firing a couple of rounds into the air will dissuade dangerous game.