Posted on 06/10/2010 5:15:18 AM PDT by marktwain
Yesterday the National Park Service honored Ranger Scott Emmerich with the 2010 Harry Yount Award, the agency's highest honor for service to the Nation. Ranger Emmerich serves in Alaska's Glacier National Park.
Apparently in response to various questions posed by the by the Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe, Scott Emmerich is taking Americans' new gun rights in National Parks in stride. Emmerich explained that
"I guess the biggest thing I'm cautious of is to not violate a person's Second Amendment rights. It's legal for them to carry a gun. The adjustment for park rangers was that we used to react immediately. Now . . . you're just cautious. . . .
There are some people who used to say they would never hike in Glacier National Park, but now they do because they're packing. They were worried about bears before, but now they can carry guns. . . . I would say 90 percent of visitors don't carry guns into a park and I'd say about 10 percent do, and if they do, good for you.
The gun issue is controversial, and it's one that people thought might be blown out of proportion. But it shouldn't be. It's not that big a deal. We'll get used to it, we'll adapt and it shouldn't change our lives at all. We'll just be careful and respect peoples' rights to carry a handgun or shotgun or rifle."
Perhaps prompted into action by the Coburn Amendment (legalizing gun carry in National Parks if legal under state law), State officials across the United States, apparently feeling the same way about gun carry rights as Ranger Emerich,
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The one outlier appears to be Maine, where the legislature voted to ban open carry in Acadia National Park.
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
Uh... Glacier National Park isn’t in Alaska.
How does a state ban carry in a NATIONAL park?
Uh...better tell that to the people in Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls.
Thank God someone in Ø’s regime is defending the rights of the citizens he is assigned to serve.
Yeah, that “little” fact slipped by the author didn’t it?
Good point. Hopefully, the Tea Party Gov. gets elected and he’ll veto such nonsense.
They already know, since they all live in MONTANA.
The new law subjugates the park’s carry rules to those of the state.
If the state says you can’t carry in a park, you can’t carry in a national park located in that state.
And this is the problem, which methinks the Obama may be planning on: too many people who haven’t read the law will think they know it and do something illegal.
Sound like you haven’t read the law in question. I suggest you do.
OOOPs! Missed this part of the story:
The Coburn Amendement is legalizing gun carry in National Parks (if legal under state law), Still I think it’s illegal.
My bad I thought you said something else...my dyslexia is showing again.
The way the law reads, if a state bans guns in their state parks, they would also be banned in national parks within that state.
I think you could challenge the law if they didn't ban them in their other parks in the state.
Wouldn’t be to quick to challenge the Corburn Amendment just to overturn a state policy regarding open carry in a single national park.
If Corburn is overturned, the previous NPS policy will return. Remember that policy was effectively a gun ban in all national parks nationwide, regardless of state law.
I can live without open carry in one park because some bureaucrats in one state have a case of the willies. If the citizens of Maine want to live with it or change it, that is up to them. They hired (elected) the legislature, they can fire them and hire someone else.
Wouldn’t be to quick to challenge the Corburn Amendment just to overturn a state policy regarding open carry in a single national park.
If Corburn is overturned, the previous NPS policy will return. Remember that policy was effectively a gun ban in all national parks nationwide, regardless of state law.
I can live without open carry in one park because some bureaucrats in one state have a case of the willies. If the citizens of Maine want to live with it or change it, that is up to them. They hired (elected) the legislature, they can fire them and hire someone who will fix it.
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