Obviously the current ban isn't working along with all the other "gun free" zones. You said it yourself when you described the rowdy campers.
"When guns are outlawed, only the outlaws will have guns."

We love you dearly Carey but have to disagree with you on this one... 'If you outlaw guns, then only the outlaws have guns'...I'm sure you've heard that old adage before...
My neice was raped while hiking the AT alone and where if she had been carrying a gun, it probably wouldn't of happened...
And... If someone is so inclined to kill (for whatever reason) then they are going to do it regardless of whether they have a gun or not...
Just because someone carries a gun doesn't mean they'd shoot a bear or another person... They generally carry them for self-protection against the crazies that carry them illegally!

You may not know it, but this effort has been going on for almost 5 years. The Virginia Citizens Defense League put in a petition for Rule Making (PRM) asking that the National Parks(NP) just allow the laws of the state where the park exists to be the rule. That way you are not dealing with 2 or more sets of rules. This is especially important in Virginia where you can be driving down a road and all of a sudden find yourself in a NP!

The NP Service (NPS) turned down that PRM saying the parks are safe. But at the same time, the parks were refusing to grant research permits to anyone who would not sign a release saying they understood the NPS could offer them no protection. Not to mention the rise in the number of pot farms and meth labs in the NPs.

All this is, is the law abiding asking to be able to protect themselves with their concealed handgun IAW state law. These folks statistically show themselves to be more law abiding then the police. Remember, 2.5 Million times per day, Guns SAVE Lives!

Are you crazy? _Nothing_ better fits the mood of the wilderness than a six-gun on your hip! Are the woods no more dangerous than the cities? Who ever said that the _urban_ crime rate was tolerable? We need to carry guns there, too. We need guns _everywhere_ police have ever failed to prevent someone like us from being raped, mugged, robbed, carjacked, or burgled.

I was going to comment on the positive aspects of concealed carry but these fine people have covered the issue quite well, thank you to them all.

Carey, you're fighting the good fight, but you'll soon find you're out-gunned by the NRA;-)

There are so many flaws with this effort it's laughable.

1)The NRA has claimed that under current regs it's illegal to have guns in national parks. It currently IS legal to transport guns through the national parks. They just have to be unloaded and out of reach.

2) Some parks -- Yellowstone, Great Smoky Mountains, Death Valley, Gulf Islands National Seashore just to name four -- span more than one state. Won't those be fun places to ensure that gun owners are following the right law if this effort succeeds?

3) If this legislation passes, it's possible that some parks could turn into base camps for hunters going after elk, deer, etc., in adjoining public lands.

4) How would rangers tell the good guys from the bad guys? At least under the current regs, if someone in a park is seen with a weapon, that's probable cause to stop them and see what they're up to. I'm sure felons would love to see this law passed, as they could then blend in with the crowd.

All the same old tired arguments, there will be blood on the trails, bambi will get shot. What y'all are missing is that little detail you even mentioned. This bill simply allows folks who already legally carry firearms to do so while on park property. If this really bothers you then by all means do not ever go out in public because they're already there. And we know what a wild west shootout a simple trip to the mall is these days.
And before someone points out that there have actually been mall shootings recently, let me point out that in every one of those cases the mall was a posted gun free zone, just like our national parks.

The current ban is not just about carrying inside the park areas. The current ban includes highways which go through these parks. So someone with a concealed handgun permit may be unknowingly breaking the law by not unloading the gun while driving on certain areas of highway.

I's not people I'm worried about. When visiting national parks in Alaska and the grizzly's range in the lower 48, I always felt a little uncomfortable hiking the back country without any means for protection. It would be nice to know I could posess a means of personal protection.

C'mon now. Look at all the "Safe Places" we can take our familys and enjoy time away from home like shopping malls, and events at college campus'. OH wait there have been shootings there and people are not allowed to have firearms there and if they were then maybe these psychos would rethink thier plan if someone might shoot back! Let everyone carry as a deterant. The best offence is the best defence!

If you don't want loaded guns in national parks, use the following link to send an e-mail saying so to your reps. in Washington.

http://ga1.org/campaign/Coburn_Amendment?qp_source=adv%5fhme

Oh yeah, that's why I wanted to legally carry while hiking in the Rocky Mountain National park... so I can shoot bears. Not to protect myself and others from harm. Everyone knows that a compact 9mm pistol is the optimum bear hunting weapon.

Well after all, gun free zones have been really effective so far...

Some park rangers in Yellowstone have cut down fully automatic M14 rifles in their rigs, I know this because a personal friend of mine, who is a gunsmith, did the work for them. Any one who thinks these are primarily for defense against four legged creatures are sorely misguided. All law enforcement personel carry weapons for one primary reason....self defense. I guess that makes their life liberty and persuit of happiness more sacred than yours and mine.

I'm not crazy about guns. But not every national park is as pleasant and crime free as Acadia. Smugglers are as frequent as hikers. Rangers deserve combat pay.

I don't know if gun-toting campers will make parks safer or crazier. But safety is a real issue for many parks.