Today, a change in the federal law allows people to carry handguns, rifles and other firearms into national parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon – provided that state’s law OKs it.
If this sounds like a radical change, that’s because it is. Visitors have been prohibited from carrying firearms into national parks, except a few in Alaska and a handful that allow hunting. The release from the National Park Service doesn’t exactly sound like a ringing endorsement of the change, which was passed by Congress last year.
“For nearly 100 years, the mission of the National Park Service has been to protect and preserve the parks and to help all visitors enjoy them,” National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis said in a press release. “We will administer this law as we do all others – fairly and consistently.” Park websites are being updated with links to state firearms laws so people can plan accordingly, the release also said.
A Los Angeles Times article today notes that “weapons won’t be allowed in buildings where federal employees work, such as the Statue of Liberty and park visitors centers. But restaurants, hotels and gift shops will be subject to the new gun law. Yosemite’s historic Ahwahnee hotel, for example, must allow visitors who are legally entitled to carry weapons to bring them into the building.”
The article goes on to note that the law is going to create all kinds of regulatory problems, particularly as many national parks (and national wildlife refuges – you can now bring guns there too) span state lines. For example, the Appalachian Trail goes through 14 states – all with different gun laws. For the record, it’s still illegal to shoot a gun in a national park (which then begs the question of why you’d want to bring one with you in the first place).
So how did this legislation get passed – especially in a year when a bad economy, plus Ken Burns’ lyrical miniseries on National Parks, sparked record attendance at some national parks, particularly among cost-conscious families? A May 2009 Washington Post blog post from Ed O’Keefe reveals that the provisions were slipped into the credit card holder bill of rights, as a sop to Oklahoma Republication Senator Tom Coburn. Apparently Coburn has long argued that the national park ban made it hard for gun owners to travel between state and federal lands. President Obama signed the bill.
As you might imagine, Second Amendment types are enthused about the changes. The LA Times story says that gun rights advocates were planning to hold armed cookouts in Gettysburg, Valley Forge and other parks today. “Now it’s a big sea of gun freedom,” says Mike Stollenwerk, co-founder of OpenCarry.org, which advocates legally carrying holstered handguns in public, in the article.
Great, armed cookouts. That’s exactly what I’d want my family exposed to, the next time I visit a historic site. I’m of the opinion that national parks are supposed to be safe havens, where you don’t have to worry about people carrying weapons. Rangers don’t carry guns, after all. I’m afraid that this change in the law exposes them to risk, should they encounter some belligerent yahoo who has had too much to drink at a campsite. Not to mention the dangers posed to wildlife from possible poachers.
It seems to me that state laws allowed gun owners plenty of places to bring their firearms. Many federal lands allow hunting, after all. Why we have to open up our national parks — protected lands meant to inspire us with their natural beauty and serenity — to people toting guns is beyond me. I don’t want to look over at the person next to me on the rim of the Grand Canyon and see a gun in a holster. It changes the experience in a negative way for the majority of the visitors.
At least that’s my view. What do you think? Does this change in the law bother you? Or are you fine with it?
Orignially published on ChrisAroundTheWorld.
Photo: otaku, Flickr Creative Commons
