Obama passes law, loaded firearms OK at National Forests?

National Parks and National Forests aren't the same. I was under the impression that concealed carry has always been OK in National Forests, and it will be OK in National Parks this coming February, depending on the laws of the states in watch the park is located.
 
I heard about it before. I think they attached it to something else that big 0 wanted passed.

Perhaps I'll feel inclined to visit our National Park(s) here once again after next February. As it stands now, I simply avoid them.

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I've never quite gotten the difference between national park/national forest/state park/state forest either. Even if I'm starting to understand the difference, it seems that a lot of trail heads still start in parks.

I always end up wondering where all these folks are carrying when they talk about a trail gun. It seems like a brilliant idea to carry around something for the critters, but I always want to err on the side of caution based on what's prohibited.
 
Actually, it was a Bush swan song. It's just now getting into action (I believe), It is GREAT news, though. I always wondered why I'm allowed to carry for SD in WalMart, but not out in the middle of the boonies. Seems National Parks have been fair game for serial killers and meth labs for so many years, they've finally decided to let people defend themselves. I wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail for many years, but the thought of hiking thousands of miles UNARMED just never bode well with me. Maybe I can do SOME of it now, although New York will be bypassed due to their draconian gun laws.
 
The biggest difference is funding. I'm pretty sure National Forests, National Monuments, etc get a fraction of the funds that National Parks do. For example, one state north of me, there are people who are pushing for Mt. St. Helens to be made a National Park (it's presently a National Monument), it enjoys by far more visitors than some places that ARE National Parks, but they don't even have enough money to have all of their visitors centers open. But that's a whole other issue.
 
Whatever legislation that referred to, the headline should have read: "Obama's New Bill Continues to Allow Guns in National Parks." Guns were okay before, they are okay now.

If there had been much controversy over this thing I'm sure we would have heard more about it between that blog entry back in May and now.
 
Daryl...If memory serves me right it was piggy backed on the credit card reform bill.
So in order for it to pass they had to accept it in its entirety.
Hopefully i didn't get it wrong....like i said if memory serves right.
 
A moderator should end this thread now with a completely misleading title like that. National Forests have never been the issue. To the one poster that wondered about "trail use," there are literally thousands of miles of trails and hundreds of thousands (millions) of acres in the nations' national forests where it is perfectly acceptable to carry--concealed (with reg CC permit) or not--as well as hunt and shoot within cerain "distance from" parameters..It's bad enough we have a fed government that screws up on so many counts, let's not add or incite accusatory or inflammatory rhetoric through misinformation when the government is not messing up...as rare as that may be.
 
gak, I've looked into it for years, and it has been illegal to carry a firearm for SD on much of the Appalachian Trail for a long long time. Im no legal expert, and in no way have I tried to mislead anyone with inflamatory rhetoric. I was just trying to say that as a CCW permit holder, I'm still not legally allowed to carry in many remote areas that I'd like to go. This legislation should remedy alot of the confusion over this basic american right. Maybe I should add that when I say hike the trail, I mean from GA all the way to Maine. I'd like to be armed with more than a stick, though, and reciprocity of my permit, federal prohibitions, etc, basically mean if you do the hike, you can't carry a weapon. 2165 miles unarmed??? No thanks, not me
 
Not sure why there was even a debate. Everything bad a person could do with a gun in a National Park has already been illegal. Vandalism (such as shooting road signs) is illegal, poaching is illegal, threatening someone with a gun outside of justifiable self-defense is illegal, and so on... and all of that has been the case for some time. Here, concealed carrying has pretty much always been legal in State Parks, most are ok with open carry as well, I believe. I go to State Parks often and haven't seen ANY problems caused by the fact that guns are allowed.
 
In state parks you're fine, it's national parks. Under the guidelines of florida gun laws, to carry concealed in National Parks requires (to do it legally) the permit holder to get advance written permission to legally carry through these areas.
 
The rider on the Credit card bill codified the ruling of the National Park Service allowing concealed carry in National Parks that was made while W was in office, and that was upended by Federal Judge who clearly never took a logic class in college. That legislation goes into effect early next year (Daryl says February, and that sounds right), so, don't just go packing in a National Park yet! (Unless, like zombieslayer says, you have advanced written permission pinned to your sleeve.)

The OP's link discusses concealed carry in National Forests which is, and has been generally legal providing the carrier is legal to do so in the state that contains the National Forest. The blogger that the OP links to may have confabulated the two. As I have no recollection that a discussion about carrying in National Forests was occurring at the time the blog was written, I'm guessing that is the case.
 
I always end up wondering where all these folks are carrying when they talk about a trail gun. It seems like a brilliant idea to carry around something for the critters, but I always want to err on the side of caution based on what's prohibited.
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National forests are legal to carry in; always have been. National parks are "no hunting" areas, very similar to a wildlife refuge where they're exempt from being hunted.

Most areas owned by the feds are either BLM or National Forest. The Parks are generally well marked, at least at the entrances.

I go into National Forests fairly often; I only pass through national parks on my way somewhere else; at least at this point. There's only one national park near me, and although it's a large area, it's very small and easy to avoid by comparison to the amount of BLM, National Forest, and State Trust Land I can hike and hunt in.

Here's an example, and this entire range is mostly National Forest, with no national parks within 100 miles in any direction. Notice the "trail gun", and there's a short barreled Winchester in the scabbord.

;)

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NP's vs. NF's

National Parks, as well as National Monuments, National Historic Sites, National Seashores as well as several other monickers, are all administerd by the National Park Service. The NPS is an agency within the Dept of Interior. They were established due to some natural, scenic, historical/cultural reason. Their primary function is to preserve and protect that specific location/resource.

National Forests are well .....National Forests. They are managed by the National Forest Service, which is an agency within the Dept of Agriculture.
Their primary purpose is USE of the forest, as in timber sales. Their are other uses permitted such as hunting

The NPS and the USFS and their respective sites, are two distinctly different agencies, w/ different purposes. The sites have different regs, which have been pretty well explained prior.
 
The law which goes into effect in Feb 2010 does not grant blanket carry authority in every national park. You must be legal to carry in the state where the national park is located. For example, if you have a FL permit but NY does not recognize your FL permit then you could not carry in any NP located in NY. Where that could get someone in trouble would be like along the Appalachian Trail which goes thru several states. You may be legal in one state but illegal in another. Do your homework before carrying.
 
Yep, definitely. Florida's Dept Agriculture website has reciprocity listed and updated. I think there are 33 states with reciprocity for FL permits. My folks just went on a trip and checked it all out ahead of time. When it comes to hiking the AT, I've long given up on ever being able to complete it in its entirety and be legally armed through some areas. That will probably never change, but at least at the state level, we can better understand where we can legally carry. At least the AT doesnt go through Illinois!!!
 
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