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U.S. Senator To Make Bid to Allow National Park Visitors to Carry Guns

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U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn wants to make it OK to carry guns in the national parks.

Why would a doctor be determined to provide more access to guns in the country?

U.S. Senator Thomas Coburn, a Republican from Oklahoma, will try to do that by introducing an amendment that would bar the Interior secretary from enforcing the current ban on carrying weapons in the parks.

The attempt by Sen. Coburn, who specializes in family medicine and "has personally delivered more than 4,000 babies," has drawn the attention of the Association of National Park Rangers, the U.S. Park Rangers Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police, and the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees.

Sen. Coburn's effort, which you can find attached below, would prohibit the Interior secretary from enforcing regulations currently in place that require gun owners to have their guns unloaded and stored while visiting most units of the park system.

In a letter sent to other senators, (and also attached below) the three groups say Sen. Coburn's amendment not only could lead to an increase in poaching in the parks but also impact the safe atmosphere that currently exists.

Senator Coburn’s amendment could dramatically degrade the experience of park visitors and put their safety at risk if units of the National Park System were compelled to follow state gun laws. For example, since Wyoming has limited gun restrictions, visitors could see persons with semi-automatic weapons attending campground programs, hiking down park trails or picnicking along park shorelines at Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. Moreover, many rangers can recite stories about incidents where the risk to other visitors – as well as to the ranger – would have been exacerbated if a gun had been readily-accessible. This amendment would compromise the safe atmosphere that is valued by Americans and expected by international tourists traveling to the United States.

There is simply no legitimate or substantive reason for a thoughtful sportsman or gun owner to carry a loaded gun in a national park unless that park permits hunting. The requirement that guns in parks are unloaded and put away is a reasonable and limited restriction to facilitate legitimate purposes—the protection of precious park resources and safety of visitors.

You can contact Sen. Coburn via this site to let him know what you think of his plans.

Comments

Well, it might interest some of you to know that 47 senators have asked the NPS to conform to the gun laws of the state(s) in which a park is located.

Quote: "why would anyone going to a park want or need to carry a weapon[?]"

Well, for the same reasons that one would want or need a gun in any other area: for protection from criminals and wild animals.


I think its a good thing to allow citizens the right to carry firearms of their choice in parks to protect themselves from 2 AND 4 legged predators.

Our National Parks are nothing less than another "Gun Free Zone" where 2 legged predators are free to attack people that are guaranteed to be defenseless under current law.

People that have an irrational fear of people exercising the choice to carry firearms also used to scream and yell that the streets would turn into the Wild West with shootouts everywhere if we were to issue concealed carry permits to all persons that do not have a criminal background....in fact Concealed Carry has turned out SO well that most states that are now "Shall Issue" also enjoy lower rates of violent crime.

I just wish more people would stop acting so irrationally about a simple tool like a firearm.


If national parks are such safe places, why are many park rangers now carrying handguns? Criminals love places where honest citizens are not allowed to be armed; it makes their job so much easier!


If you feel you need protection from the wild animals in a National Park, then stay home. One purpose of the parks is to protect those animals. If you think you might need to shot one, stay away.


"the point is that even in the hands of law-abiding citizens, people end up dying from senseless gun violence.

Source, please."

How about just last weekend in Baltimore County, MD, when a 15-year old kid took his father's legally owned gun and killed him and his entire family? His father was a law-abiding citizen and owned the gun legally. And yet 4 people are dead. Can you not envision a situation in a campground where something similar could happen?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The more people are allowed to carry guns, the less safe I feel.


Our right to self defense as a Person, a state, as a nation is inate. Our right to arm ourself is also inate, and constitutionally protected under the second amendant. Our constitutional rights are protected under Federal law. Namely Title 18 chapter 13 sec 242. If we as a person, dont have the right to arm ourselves then niether do all policemen. The parks are there for everyones enjoyment, but one persons life is more important, and more valueable than all the animals on earth. And should be defended, and should have the right to be defended. The senator from Ok is right.


I live on the edge of the Everglades National Park. It is one of the largest areas in Florida that bans ordinary law abiding citizens from carrying firearms. There are hundreds of thousands of law abiding gun carriers in Florida who walk around everyday without commiting violence. These people are more law abiding than your average citizen without a concealed weapons permit. We must get finger printed, an FBI background check, and several other requirements. To prohibit these people from carrying the same inanimate object while in a national park is without logic.

I applaud Sen. Coburn and the others for taking a stand for what is right.

I have had to use a gun to save the life of my infant son from a vicious dog attack while walking down my own street. I live in a nice part of town and the police arrived in less than 5 minutes. Had I been unarmed and waited for the police I could have been seriously injured and my son killed within that five minutes. Far worse could occur while in the secluded vast wilderness of a national park.

The Everglades has alligators, bear, panthers (though not many), poisonous snakes, dangerous wild boar, and the potential to run into two legged predators is there too. For the federal government to not allow law abiding citizens to legally do what they may throughout the rest of the parks in Florida is criminal and unconstitutional. This bill is long overdue, but better late than never.


http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=3439

"in Baltimore County, MD, when a 15-year old kid took his father's legally owned gun and killed him and his entire family?"

This kid's father stored his gun in an irresponsible manner. Taking MY gun from ME wouldn't have helped here, and it's not what we were talking about. But FYI, my gun is either in my holster or in the lock box.

This link will get you to the information about the most recent report about guns and crime. Read it for yourself; I won't tell you what it says.


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