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Do we need guns at Paradise?
Crosscut ^ | 3/5/08 | Knute Berger

Posted on 03/05/2008 8:36:13 AM PST by XR7

How do you feel about allowing loaded guns in our national parks? Do you feel the need to pack heat while wandering the wildflower meadows of Paradise on Mount Rainier? Are you determined to protect yourself against overly aggressive squirrels at Hurricane Ridge? As you may have heard, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne has agreed to modify existing rules that prohibit people from carrying loaded weapons in the national parks. The new rules will be ready for public comment by the end of April [289K PDF].

The push comes from the U.S. Senate. Fifty senators added their signatures to a letter by Sen. Michael Crapo of Idaho to Kempthorne (the former Idaho governor of Idaho), pressing him to address the issue. Basically, the proposal seeks to ensure that national park rules match the gun laws of the state in which the park is located. So if Montana allows you to carry a loaded weapon, so should the rangers at Glacier National Park. Currently, you can bring guns into parks, but they have to be unloaded and stowed away. You can't hike the trails or gaze into the Grand Canyon with a firearm on your hip. No using Mount Rushmore for target practice.

A similar proposal in the Senate has stalled a bill that contains, among other things, designation of the Wild Sky Wilderness Area in Washington. Democrats have claimed it is a political ploy, backed by the National Rifle Association, to force Democrats to take a tough gun vote during an election year.

The NRA is happy about Kempthorne's decision to make the rules change. Proponents argue that it is an issue of basic rights and liberties: You have the right to protect yourself wherever you are, consistent with state law. That's what the editorial board of the Idaho Statesman says.

But not all westerners from gun-friendly states draw the same conclusion. Both of Montana's senators back Kempthorne's move, but two anti-guns-in-parks editorials worth reading appeared in Montana papers. One, from the Kalispell Daily Inter Lake, argues that in nearby Glacier National Park there is no crime problem and that guns are a poor defense against the main predator, grizzly bears. Pepper spray is both non-lethal and more effective, since you don't have to hit a bulls-eye to deter a charging griz.

I'm reminded of what a friend in Alaska once told me about guns and grizzlies. I asked him if he carried a .357 magnum with him in the back country, and he said well, if you take one of those as grizzly protection, you better be sure and file off the gunsight. Why? Because that way, he said, it won't hurt so much when the bear shoves it up your ass.

The government has worked for many years to both bring back Glacier's threatened grizzly population but also to establish peaceful co-existence between the park's bears and people by keeping them wary of — and away from — each other. That seems to have worked pretty well. For those who don't want peace with bears, there's always hunting season.

Another op-ed, in the Billings Gazette, by veteran chief park ranger and superintendent Pete Hart, emphasized that the national parks are unique. "They are special places of inspiration and education with a sense of tranquility, history, and beauty," he writes. Current rules, Hart says, don't infringe on gun ownership and allow the parks to be managed as special, protected places with rules that apply to all of them, from urban parks like Independence Hall to Yellowstone. He quotes a longtime National Park Service employee named Bill Brown, who wrote in a 1971 book called Islands of Hope that he sees the national parks "as sanctuaries of nature, as landmarks of history and culture, and as places of contemplation, discovery and adventure."

There seems to be a division between those who see our national parks as special places outside the norm and those who think you should be able to do in a park whatever you do at home. But the parks, by definition, are special and require care and stewardship. They cannot survive without protection, regulation, and sensitive regard. Much of this is already eroding as groups lobby for greater commercialization of the parks and as funds for care and upkeep fail to keep pace with need.

There are a number of areas where I stray from liberal orthodoxy, and one of them is on guns. I am a strong supporter of our constitutional right to keep and bear arms for protection, sport, or any other legal purpose. That said, I think guns can be regulated to a degree. It seems to me that allowing people to carry around loaded guns in our national parks creates more problems than it solves. There is no major crime or outlaw problem, and to the extent that wildlife pose a risk to visitors, well, no wilderness park should promise a risk-free visit.

I think the key word is the one Brown used: sanctuary. Our national parks should be sanctuaries from life as usual. If you can take your hat off in church, you ought to be able to keep your gun in the car when visiting such a place. If that's going to spoil your vacation, go someplace else.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: 2ndamendment; banglist; ccp; concealed; firearms; gunfreezone; guns; nationalpark; parkservice; rkba; secondamendment; selfdefense; unalienable
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To: XR7
Carol and Julie Sund, Silvina Pelosso and Joie Ruth Armstrong probably wished they had been legal to carry a gun in "Paradise".
21 posted on 03/05/2008 8:51:57 AM PST by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: caver
"This author has said so many stupid things in such a short article that it’s hard to figure out where to start."

I agree with that. The point is it's nobodys business where I carry, and If I present no danger doing so in downtown Seattle, then I present no danger in the Parks. The issue is just another example of leftists wanting to chip away at rights they personally don't approve of.

22 posted on 03/05/2008 8:53:27 AM PST by VR-21
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To: XR7
One, from the Kalispell Daily Inter Lake, argues that in nearby Glacier National Park there is no crime problem and that guns are a poor defense against the main predator, grizzly bears. Pepper spray is both non-lethal and more effective, since you don't have to hit a bulls-eye to deter a charging griz.

Well, if there is no crime then why are they so determined to keep guns out of parks? Nobody will ever have a reason to know you're carrying one.

And to use pepper spray on a grizzly. Yeah, I'd like to watch this idiot stand there holding a little pepper spray bottle against a charging bear.

Sometimes these people are so idiotic I wonder how they are from the same planet.

23 posted on 03/05/2008 8:55:08 AM PST by VeniVidiVici (Benedict Arnold was against the Terrorist Surveillance Program)
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To: Tex Pete
"Lots of people have been murdered in national parks. And just because there isn’t a “crime problem” doesn’t mean there won’t ever be an incident.

I’m pretty sure Virginia Tech didn’t have a “crime problem,” either.

Ahh, liberals."

Lovely liberal logic...logic of the mentally deranged.

24 posted on 03/05/2008 9:01:37 AM PST by EnigmaticAnomaly ("This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.")
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To: XR7

Ask Meredith Emerson if she would have liked to have been carrying a gun in one of Georgia’s State Parks around Jan 1st of this year...


25 posted on 03/05/2008 9:03:00 AM PST by beaureguard
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To: XR7
"guns are a poor defense against the main predator, grizzly bears. Pepper spray is both non-lethal and more effective, since you don't have to hit a bulls-eye to deter a charging griz." Let me get this straight....I should wait until the charging bear gets close enough to use pepper spray, say 3 or 4 feet? Somehow that is more effective than putting a few 357 rounds in his head at 4 feet????
26 posted on 03/05/2008 9:04:19 AM PST by Fred911 (YOU GET WHAT YOU ACCEPT)
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To: VeniVidiVici
And to use pepper spray on a grizzly. Yeah, I'd like to watch this idiot stand there holding a little pepper spray bottle against a charging bear.

LOL! The grizzly will use the pepper to season this moron's carcass.

27 posted on 03/05/2008 9:06:06 AM PST by steve-b (Sin lies only in hurting others unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. --RAH)
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To: steve-b

...bear scat smells like pepper and has little bells in it...


28 posted on 03/05/2008 9:10:49 AM PST by null and void (I slept better when I thought our betters actually were better...)
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To: steve-b

“You don’t shoot Mongo, you’ll only make him mad.” Ditto for Pepper Spray on a Bear.


29 posted on 03/05/2008 9:11:42 AM PST by massgopguy (I owe everything to George Bailey)
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To: caver
Good morning.
“Democrats have claimed it is a political ploy, backed by the National Rifle Association, to force Democrats to take a tough gun vote during an election year.”

That sounds like an admission that gun grabbing is a losing issue. So they know that the majority opposes gun control, yet still try to force it on us by any means possible.

Despicable DemocRATs.

Michael Frazier

30 posted on 03/05/2008 9:12:25 AM PST by brazzaville (No surrender, no retreat. Well, maybe retreat's ok)
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To: XR7
Do you feel the need to pack heat while wandering the wildflower meadows of Paradise on Mount Rainier?

I don't have a problem with that.

If I were to hike the Cascade Crest trail that crosses through a lot of park and national wilderness lands, I would definitely be carrying my snub-nose 44 mag or one of my many 357 Magnum revolvers.

And yes, I do have a CPL.

31 posted on 03/05/2008 9:13:09 AM PST by Robert357 (D.Rather "Hoist with his own petard!" www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1223916/posts)
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To: XR7

do a google search on: Appalachian trail murders or Yellowstone National park murders. Where there are people, there is a need for self defense.


32 posted on 03/05/2008 9:21:43 AM PST by MrPiper
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To: wastedyears

I carry mine everywhere except through a metal detector controlled area and I do not like being unarmed in those places either.

I always muse over the old codgers they have in federal courts houses as security. I hated giving up my weapon when I went in there to testify when I was an LEO.


33 posted on 03/05/2008 9:24:26 AM PST by Resolute Conservative
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To: massgopguy
“You don’t shoot Mongo, you’ll only make him mad.” Ditto for Pepper Spray on a Bear.

The guy who wrote the article is a total idiot, and states too many stupid points to respond to. But I do believe that pepper spray is indeed the most effective deterent to bears. A bears olefactory system is many thousands of times more sensitive than a dogs. That is why the pepper spray is effective. They really cannot tolerate at all a full shot of spray. It becomes an instinctive reaction to repel against that irritant.

That having been said. When I'm in the woods, I'm accompanied by my Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter loaded with .44 mag Garrett Hammerheads. :)
34 posted on 03/05/2008 9:25:04 AM PST by rickomatic
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To: PeterPrinciple
Lets go find a griz, and then give him a choice of what weapon he would use............


35 posted on 03/05/2008 9:26:52 AM PST by uglybiker (I do not suffer from mental illness. I quite enjoy it, actually.)
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To: null and void

We should be able to carry guns because its our Constitutional right, regardless of whether there is a need for animal control, protection from criminals, or any other reason.


36 posted on 03/05/2008 9:33:19 AM PST by Mr.Grumble
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To: SoldierDad
law abiding citizens.

I’ll ask this again. What law? Whose Law? that phrase in itself is a catch 22 some states make it against the law to defend yourself period.

I’d like to hear any response on that topic. Md. is my example.

37 posted on 03/05/2008 9:36:53 AM PST by Phantom Patriot (From my cold dead hands.)
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To: XR7
IMO, if the Bill of Rights applies anywhere, it also applies on Federal Government land. Our rights are not subject to a “utility” test. For example, we cannot say that because in a particular town nothing ever happens that nobody can exercise their right of a free press. If anything, public lands are particular areas of concern, for we know that law enforcement in remote areas is remote, not to mention having the means to repel an attacking animal. One hundred years ago anyone venturing into these remote areas would be considered a moonbat to venture very far while unarmed. It appears that moonbattery is still with us, only now they are in positions to pass laws, or prevent their repeal.
38 posted on 03/05/2008 9:40:46 AM PST by theBuckwheat
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To: Phantom Patriot

Would you be okay for people with violent felony convictions being allowed to carry concealed or openly displayed firearms? I’m not referring to people who have received parking tickets or speeding tickets here.


39 posted on 03/05/2008 9:42:58 AM PST by SoldierDad (Proud Dad of a 2nd BCT 10th Mountain Soldier home after 15 months in the Triangle of death)
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To: Mr.Grumble
We should be able to carry guns because its our Constitutional right...

Thanks for that.
But,
Let's get something clear: It is our God-given right.
It is an "unalienable" right.
That means no one but God has the right to take it away.
The U.S. Constitution merely recognizes that.

40 posted on 03/05/2008 9:46:57 AM PST by XR7
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