Others have mentioned this before, but the Federal Government is seeking Public comments on the proposed changes to the regulations ending June 30, 2008. This is an opportunity to encourage the change and is very easy to do. You fill out the form online here, and add comments.
The proposed changes are to amend Title 36, part 2; and Title 50, part 27; to conform to State laws allowing concealed carry. For the 40 States allowing CC, then that State's law would apply to National Parks to allow CC as they already do on BLM land, etc. For the States that do not allow concealed carry, then even if the proposed regulation changes are passed, you could not conceal carry in National Parks in those States. This is a common sense change, but it needs your Public Comments too, because anti-gunners are submitting comments suggesting that poaching and other illegal activities would skyrocket. They are wrong. The experience of the 40 States with concealed carry laws in effect shows that concealed carry permit holders are far more responsible than the populace at large. Mention this in your Public Comments. One can reasonably draw the conclusion that this record of responsible activity would carry over to CC in National Parks.
Do it, submitting comments online takes only a few minutes. I submitted mine and would like to see others do their part. 5 minutes max is all I ask.
Mr. Burns: This anonymous clan of slack-jawed troglodytes has cost me the election, and yet if I were to have them killed, I would be the one to go to jail. That's democracy for you.
Smithers: You are noble and poetic in defeat, sir.
The NRA-ILA announced that two Democrat Congressman have forced the Department of the Interior to extend the remarks period until August 8, 2008. It seems that 10's of thousands of pro-gun people have responded and submitted their comments concerning the right to carry in National Parks (subject to State laws on CCW), and Senator Akaka of Hawaii and Rep. Grijalva of Arizona (both Dems and anti-gun) didn't like the results. So they forced a 30 day extension on comments to get more anti-gun people to submit their comments.
If you haven't yet submitted comments and are pro-concealed-carry in National Parks , please take the 5 minutes to click the link in the 1st post and do your duty for gun rights. Federal rulemakers are highly susceptible to citizen pressure.
Here is what I submitted. I didn't know exactly what I should say, but I felt this was adequate.
Concealed carry in National parks will allow citizens to comfortably carry a
firearm in a pack where it can be close at hand if needed, but out of site for
everyone to see. This will make everyone on the trail more comfortable in case
someone who is uneasy around firearms comes into contact with a person carrying
a firearm. While it is legal to open carry, a large majority of the population
is unaware of gun laws and may feel unnecessarily threatened at the site of a
firearm. Firearms can be a valuable survival tool in the case coming into
contact with an aggravated animal, and allowing them to be concealed in National
parks can prevent unnecessary problems between those enjoying the outdoors.
The national park system preserves one of America's greatest natural resources for current and future generations. These parks, while extraordinarily beautiful, can in fact be dangerous places. Threats to park visitors exist in the form of physical threats from malicious persons and resident wildlife, and environment threats from dangerous / difficult to navigate / expansive terrain. Firearms provide an effective means for national park visitors to provide for self defense against physical threats and as an effective means for signaling over great distances when help is needed in instances where a visitor requires assistance due to injury or being lost. Finally, the US Supreme Court has ruled that individuals have the right to keep and bear arms for self defense, subject to reasonable restrictions. For these reasons, I strongly support the proposed rulemaking that would authorize law abiding citizens the right to possess concealed firearms in national park areas and national wildlife refuges.
National Parks are not Sanctuaries from Violent Crimes
In fact, the opposite may be true. Gun free zones are a criminal's best friend. Data published by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service indicates that each year thousands of crimes against persons are committed in national parks, many of which are violent or deadly in nature. These crimes include homicide / manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, theft, vehicle theft. A motivated criminal possesses a distinct advantage over a potential victim in a national park due to several factors.
- National parks provide for great annonymity. Like any large area with limited population, national parks provide an individual with opportunities to isolate themselves from others. Unfortunately, this isolation is occasionally be used by predatory criminals to prey on victims.
- Summoning help is often difficult or impossible. Lack of reliable cell phone coverage, great degree of isolation, and the fact that many visitor are unfamiliar with the areas they are visiting make national parks an ideal setting for criminal activity.
- Response times are insufficient. Victims of crimes in national parks should not expect law enforcement response times measured un minutes. Should a potential or actual victim of a crime in a national park be able to contact 911 or law enforcement prior to or during the commission of a crime, it is unlikely that a response to a request for assistance can be provided in a timely fashion due to geographic factors. In many cases, victims are limited to reporting crimes after they have been committed. Even in instances where law enforcement arrives in a general area timely, it is often difficult to locate the caller.
In instances where a national park visitor is targeted by predatory criminals, a firearm may be the only reasonable means by which they can provide for self defense.
The Threat of Resident Wildlife in National Parks
The national park system provides visitors with an unprecedents opportunity to view wildlife in their natural setting. By nature, some animals become fiercely territorial or protective when they perceive humans to be a threat to themselves or their young. In other instances, some animals venture into campgrounds to forage for the foodstores of campers. In rare cases, humans may even become the prey of wildlife stalking for food. Opponents to the proposed rule have argued that the threat presented by wildlife in such instances is sufficiently uncommon so as not to warrant the possession of firearms for self defense. Regardless of the situation, visitors to the national parks deserve the right to possess legal firearms to defend against the threat of aggressive wildlife in national parks.
Firearms as Effective / Reasonably Safe Signaling Devices for Use in National Parks in Times of Distress
Many vistors to national parks come from different geographic regions and climates from where the parks are located. The combination of being unfamiliar with the area being visited, terrain features, and the climate are risk factors that result in visitors becoming lost or injured when visiting national parks. It is a common tendency for lost / injured persons in park settings to attempt to find their way back to where they started. This behavior commonly results in the person becomming even further removed from the area where they have last been seen or where they last left indicators for rescuers. Firearms can be used by lost or incapacitated persons as an immediate, highly effective signaling device across large distances when discharged straight up into the air. As opposed to urban environments where the arial discharging of a firearm presents a very real threat to the surrounding population, it is generally reasonably safe to discharge a firearm into the air in a national park setting due to very low population densities. Signaling rescuers via firearm report may in fact be more reliable and safer than some alternatives (i.e. pyrotechnic smoke signals or hastily put together campfires).
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
In a 2008 landmark decision, the US Supreme Court affirmed the right of the People to keep and bear arms for self defense purposes. The proposed rule goes a long way in recognizing this right for citizens on federal lands.
Conclusion
Opponents to the proposed rule would have you believe that allowing lawfully possessed concealed handguns in national parks will be akin to opening Pandora's Box with a resulting wave of gun-related crime. Other would have you believe that permitting such firearms in the national parks will destroy the sanctity of the parks for current and future generations. These scare tactics have no basis in fact and the historical record of those states with concealed carry laws demonstrates that concealed carry license holders are overwhelmingly law abiding citizens. These citizens made the investment in money and time to meet the training requirements of their respective states necessary to obtain a license. For the above reasons, I reaffirm my support for the proposed rulemaking that would authorize law abiding citizens the right to possess concealed firearms in national park areas and national wildlife refuges.
Apparently not enough anti-gun statements have been received.
They have extended the comment submission time until August 8th
Here's mine:
While I support the proposed change to permit loaded firearms / weapons in National Parks and Wildlife refuges, the proposed regulation should be amended as follows:
"A person may possess, carry, and transport loaded, and operable firearms or other weapons within a national park area in the same manner, and to the same extent, that a person may lawfully possess, carry, and transport loaded and operable firearms or other weapons in the state in which the federal park, or that portion thereof, is located, provided that such possession, carrying and transporting otherwise complies with applicable federal and state law."
And for National Wildlife Refuges:
"A person may possess, carry, and transport loaded, and operable firearms or other weapons within a national wildlife refuge area in the same manner, and to the same extent, that a person may lawfully possess, carry, and transport loaded and operable firearms or other weapons in the state in which the federal wildlife refuge, or that portion thereof, is located, provided that such possession, carrying and transporting otherwise complies with applicable federal and state law."
As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such a twilight that we all must be aware of change in the air -- however slight -- lest we become unwilling victims of the darkness.
Justice William O. Douglas
Pro CCW Comments Submitted!
