Guns Now Allowed In Most National Parks

READERS COMMENTS

we should have the right to carry our guns any we choose being a responsable adult. I have had mine for 6yrs & carry it everywhere & love that i can carry it out to eat with my family at places that serve alcohol as long as i dont have a drink.I should always have the right to protect myself & my family & I feel sorry for ANYONE who comes & my house unwelcome
Posted: Sep 23, 2011 Anonymous

This is a good thing.I'll tell you why. Nobody has the right to tell me IF, WHEN,AND HOW, I protect MY gift of LIFE. PERIOD....... End of story.
Posted: Aug 19, 2011 Saberman

Best defense against bears is wearing bells and carrying bear spray and being alert to where bears are. To know where bears are, look for their poo, it has bells in it and smells like bear spray.
Posted: Jun 02, 2011 Jim Bob

Here's a question: If you guys are so afraid of getting attacked by a bear in a National Park that you need to carry a gun, why go? I've seen eleven back bears and none of them have shown the slightest bit of aggression. I carry bear mace and an air horn to disable or scare off an aggressive bear, not to kill it. (That's the park's decision.) I am willfully entering their home. The primary goal of the NPS should be to preserve the last few fully protected areas in the US.

On a side note, I live in Missouri and all of the bears and wolves were killed off due to hunting. I just don't want to see that happen in places like Yellowstone. Allowing guns into the National Parks isn't going to help this cause.

Posted: Oct 14, 2010 Andrew

Last week I hiked 35 miles along the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, most of it in Shenandoah National Park. Because I have a permit to carry a concealed pistol in Virginia, I can now carry in Shenandoah National Park. I spent 23 years in the National Guard, am sane, never did drugs, am not a habitual drunkard, never was convicted of a violent crime, and have no restraining orders against me so I can have the permit. If I was not trained and not a law-abiding citizen I couldn't have the permit. What a concept: allowing good guys to have guns! I carried my Browning Hi Power pistol chambered in 9mm NATO. I saw a juvenile black bear and didn't shoot it. I spent a night in a shelter with three 50-something backpackers and didn't shoot them. The beauty of concealed carry is they didn't know I was armed so they weren't alarmed or bothered. Another night I spent under the stars and a third night I spent in a shelter alone. It was nice having the pistol along.
Posted: Oct 12, 2010 Broughton

If you feel the need to shoot other human beings, maybe you should reconsider owning a fire arm. I have yet to hear of a responsible gun owner shooting up a national part. If you choose to carry bear spary, so be it. This is your choice. I on the other hand, choose to carry a Ruger Alaskan .44 magnum beause I belive that you cannot stop a 1100 lb. bear with bear spray...
Posted: Aug 29, 2010 Ron

Posted: Aug 29, 2010 Ron

The issue for me is freedom of choice and freedom of speech. Make your best argument for leaving the gun at home or taking it with, but please, allow me the choice to make that decision myself. Protecting your neighbor's rights is an excellent way to protect your own rights!
Posted: Jul 22, 2010 Larry

Hmmm. Let's consider the safety aspect here...for the children. According to the CDC, pools deaths are one of the leading causes of child mortality, more so than firearms. I think our lawmakers should pass legislation keeping firearms out of public pools...you know, so that there is no horrible synergy between pools and guns.
Posted: May 29, 2010 Beck Lomax

Great... Now if I EVER bring a gun with me into a national park it will be to protect me from the other idiots with guns that will shoot at anything moving.
Posted: Apr 30, 2010 Greg

The greatest thing I fear is that this is one step closer to allowing hunting in the national park.
Posted: Mar 30, 2010 Andrew

I look forward to light weight handguns being included in the next Backpacker gear guide. My vote is for the Sig Sauer P228 in 9mm Parabellum.
Posted: Mar 03, 2010 Broughton

The inalienable right to self defense that the founding fathers espoused in the bill of rights and their own personal writing does not respect the border of parks, states, or cities.

I will defend myself wherever i am with whatever means i have at my disposal. Thank god for the politicians that have restored this right in all but 20 of the nations parks.


Posted: Feb 24, 2010 Bill

That was a joke for you stupid people!
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Posted: Feb 24, 2010 Pistol Pete

Great! Now I can't wait to shoot democrats and new york hiker!
Posted: Feb 24, 2010 Pistol pete

I AGREE WITH AARON, NOTHING CHANGES
Posted: Feb 24, 2010 RANDY

It's totaly wrong and not needed! Too bad we can't eliminate the NRA and the "evil" republicans. I wish Obama would get rid of gun ownership completely. Too many guns, in the hands of idiots in this country, how many people have to die for no reason?? Children, etc.
Posted: Feb 24, 2010 Ed

I worked in law enforcement for 30 years and have no problem with responsible people having guns. The "bad" guys are not responsible and efforts are made to find them and get the guns back. The real problem I've seen are the less responsible "good" guys. These are the well meaning people who don't practice with their weapon, don't store it safely or in a secure location or don't have the proper mindset in the real use of the gun. In other words the last item means they don't understand the proper use and full impact of deadly force.
I will be waiting for the stories of a "good" guy brandishing a handgun because the party in the next campsite wouldn't shut down and he/she felt threatened. I really don't worry about the backcountry as much as I do about the way we have relocated urban America to our crowded developed campgrounds on the edge of the wilds.
Posted: Feb 23, 2010 Dave_D

I grew up near Yellowstone. I am not a big hunter/shooter but own and enjoy guns. As I see it this rule doesn't change anything, except make it so that when I go to my cousin's house on the other side of the park, i don't have to drive around just because i have my weekend target gun in the trunk of my car. No one checks you at the gate of the park to see if you have a gun. So anyone who thinks that poachers and criminals don't carry in the parks right now are kidding themselves.
Posted: Feb 23, 2010 Zedek

It's interesting to see the passion on both sides of the issue and to see how both sides think they are right and the other is wrong. It's like that on a lot of issues these days. There really is no right or wrong, just oppinions and perspectives. Each persons perspective is their reality. Both sides are trying to set precedents that will oil the track for some other legislature to come.
I've done both... carried and not carried. I totally agree that the best protection is using your head to avoid the problems but have also had times when that didn't help either. I haven't carried my pistol in years because of the weight. I pack on the Buffalo River most of the time and several years back there was a guy holed up in the woods robbing and even attacking some backpackers. It took the rangers several years to find and stop him. When they did, I no longer felt the need to carry.
A lot of times when a hot issue is no longer made to be an issue it self regulates. Leave it alone and most people will get tired of carrying the extra weight and the supposed problem will be solved.
Posted: Feb 22, 2010 Mike

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