Urgent National Park Carry

Tabsr

New member
Send in your support for carry. I recevied this today from the enemy.

Dear Thomas,

The Gun Lobby Wants Loaded Guns in National Parks. Please take action!

For some reason, the gun lobby things it's a great idea to let people carry loaded weapons in our national parks. Never mind that most people feel safer when guns are not present. Never mind that national parks are actually quite safe places to be already.

The current policy, which allows unloaded and securely stored guns in parks, is smart and sound. it protects the safety of visitors and also protects the rights of gun owners. But recently, the Department of Interior, under pressure from the gun lobby, has decided to change the regulations with regard to guns in parks. The new regulation would allow people with state conceal/carry licenses to carry guns within national parks (if the state in which the national park is situated allows people to carry firearms in state parks).

Sound confusing? It is. Sound necessary? it is not.

Allowing loaded guns in parks poses a threat to wildlife, park visitors and park rangers. As required by law, the Department of Interior has opened up the regulation change process for comments from the public. Those crazy about their guns (and little else) will be submitting thousands of comments fueled on by the gun lobby. Please don't let them be the only ones commenting! Submit your comments TODAY and tell them to keep the current regulations in place!

THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO DIRECTLY AFFECT PUBLIC POLICY. TAKE ACTION BEFORE JUNE 30!

Thank you!

There are 3 ways to submit comments:

Go to the web site for the National Parks Conservation Association. Use their form to comment.


OR

Go to the Department of Interior and submit your comments directly. Use the points below but personalize your comments as much as possible.


OR

Send a letter directly to the Department of Interior, Public Comments Processing, Attn: 1024-AD70; Division of Policy and Directives Management; US Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203. These letters are worth their weight in gold. Use the points below, but personalize the letter as much as possible.


Points to make when commenting:

They are trying to fix something that isn't broken. Parks are safe -- some of the safest places in the world -- and the current regulations are working well. According to the National Park Service, the probability of becoming a victim of a violent crime in a national park is 1 in 708,333, which is less likely than being struck by lighting during one's lifetime.
The regulations would vary from park to park depending on the state in which they reside. This creates a patchwork of regulations that would be confusing to visitors and park rangers, especially in parks that reside in more than 1 state. Current regulations are consistent in all parks, across all states.
Many families and visitors, particularly those from other countries, will not like the idea that other visitors are carrying firearms while sharing interpretive programs, hiking trails, campsites and eating facilities.
With easy access to a loaded gun, some people might be tempted to poach wildlife or shoot at bears or other animals. Harm to wildlife and human visitors may increase.


CSM relies on donations from supporters to operate. If you value the work we do and can help us out, please visit our web site at

www.endgunviolence.com and donate now.
 
OK, I'm at the regulations.gov web site and searched on "rin 1024-ad70", and it's not obvious how to submit comments, nor how to read the already-submitted comments. Has anybody done this yet? How's it work? We've got about 2 weeks left to tell 'em what we think.
 
I was kayaking on the Rio Grand in Big Bend this Spring (US & Texas border). This is the most remote area in the US. One day we had a park ranger drive/Bushwack in through one of the old ranch roads to tell "camping is closed from point Johnson's ranch to Jewel Ranch because we have had armed Mexican militants moving across the border in this area." I am not sure if those were the two points but I think they were. The ranger spoke to the lead boat, which was not the leader of the trip, and then bugged out. Long gone by the time the sweep boat(leader) caught up.
The point we were told to travel to was about 18 miles past where we were having already traveled 4 miles and being into the "danger" area. We were planning to do about 15 miles on our longest day and this was really going to push some of the people on the trip, doing 1.5 times the mileage under the hot Texas Sun was obviously going to push some. We tried to make it, but people started having major problems and we ended up camping on a small island in the middle of the river. Although not planned, myself and another stayed up most of the night.
The next day we were circled by several unmarked planes and saw a NPS truck on a hilltop overlooking the river. When we came into view the truck pulled away. The unmarked planes ended up being DHS three days later we get off the river and immediately goto the Park HQ. We talk to one of the lead rangers and it turns out the cause of this was actually a lone Mexican on horseback casing one of the car camping sites along the river. The people camped there went for a day hike and when they came back saw the man from a distance who rode as soon as he saw them coming towards camp. No weapon was seen, but the people were flustered, NPS volunteers were involved and the story ended up being quite inflated by the time it reached us on the river.
Irrelevant in the end, the NPS scared the crap out of us and we pushed several people much further than we should have with 24+ hours to evacuate if we towed someone out and paddled straight through the night(through rapids after dark and the extreme exertion this would require could very well lead us to suffer more injuries and be in real trouble).
Of course we had two people with Ohio CCWs, another ex-military, and myself, all unarmed b/c the restrictions on firearms in the parks. I of course sent a few e-mail to representatives when I returned and I will be very happy to know that at least the guys with CCWs will probably be carrying when we go back this Spring. I wouldn't be surprised if we have a long gun or two along for the ride also.

National Parks are the place where Americans need to be protecting themselves the most. Help is hours and hours away and there is far too much drug trafficking in all the parks for them to be safe.
 
Well, now the carry ban can be overturned on Second Amendment grounds, since self-defense while distant from any possible aid is a traditionally lawful purpose.
 
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