Article by the Brady Bunch: http://www.sunherald.com/447/story/354851.html **** Posted on Thu, Feb. 07, 2008 Loaded, Hidden Guns in National Parks Puts Visitors at Risk By Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 --A proposal facing action by the U.S. Senate would force National Park and National Wildlife Refuge managers to allow more loaded, hidden handguns in national parks and wildlife refuges, endangering the public as well as wildlife. "This is more of the same from the gun pushers - any gun, anywhere, at any time," said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "Why are we putting hikers, campers and families at risk by introducing loaded, hidden handguns into our national parks and refuges? This proposal is a bad idea that the Senate should reject." Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, an ally of the gun lobby, plans on offering an amendment to a broader bill on public lands issues that would weaken reasonable gun restrictions in Federal lands adopted in 1982 by the Reagan Administration for the National Park Service after extensive comments and review. At the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, this amendment would undermine the firearms policy discretion of land managers who allow firearms for hunting in many refuges during hunting season, but prohibit them when no hunting is in season or where no hunting is allowed. The Coburn proposal was the subject of a letter sent in December to Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne. The letter, signed by a number of U.S. Senators, called for the elimination of common-sense limits that allow park visitors to have firearms as long as they are unloaded and lawfully stored. Late last week, gun violence prevention groups - the Brady Campaign, the Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence and the Violence Policy Center - sent a letter to Secretary Kempthorne indicating that "given the heightened security risks in the post-9/11 world, as well as contemporary concerns about poaching on federal lands, we find the Reagan Administration regulation to be both necessary and appropriate." The letter is available at http://www.bradycampaign.org/action/parks_letter.pdf A letter sent to Senators last Friday, signed by the Association of National Park Rangers, the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees and the U.S. Park Ranger Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police states: "In our view, Senator Coburn's amendment will make poaching in parks even more prevalent than it already is, thus reducing the opportunity for children, families, and Americans from all walks of life to easily view wildife that so many parks provide." Separately, the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees stated in a news release that "It is a hoax to suggest that there is some big demand out there for people to be able to tote semi-automatic weapons on the trails of Yellowstone or nine-millimeter pistols on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The current rules in no way prohibit guns in parks, but they do work to discourage that tiny percentage of irresponsible individuals who would engage in poaching and target practice at the expense of irreplaceable natural and historic sites." As the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence, the Brady Campaign, with its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, works to enact and enforce sensible gun laws, regulations and public policies. The Brady Campaign is devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities. Visit the Brady Campaign website at http://www.bradycampaign.org. For continuing insight and comment on the gun issue, read Paul Helmke's blog at http://www.bradycampaign.org/blog/. <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->__________________
Re: "Loaded, Hidden Guns in National Parks Puts Visitors at "common-sense limits that allow park visitors to have firearms as long as they are unloaded and lawfully stored." How is that going to help if a bear wanders into your camp? How is it common sense to camp in bear country with your firearm unloaded and locked in a seperate container from the ammo?
Re: "Loaded, Hidden Guns in National Parks Puts Visitors at bulsh. my atitude is changing, I'm carrying until the badguys check knives and guns and predators check fang and claw..I don't shoot wildlife without a license or out of season. I will not draw my weapon around people unless saving my own hide (or some one else's from lethal physical attack);I take responsibility.Once they pry the dead cougar off my face they can charge me.
Re: "Loaded, Hidden Guns in National Parks Puts Visitors at My thoughts exactly. When I am in a park I always have an un-loaded 12ga in the back. A bear, couger, whatever gets busy mauling someone he won't get the 1hr free time to finish the job waiting for LE to get there. Plenty of places in NP and NF where even if LE knows instantly it will still take them 1hr or longer to get there. I'll take the illegal firearm ticket to save a life.
Re: "Loaded, Hidden Guns in National Parks Puts Visitors at O boy once again the "O GOD this is going to turn it into the Wild West mentality" . Helmke could care less how many hikers , campers and families are already at risk from illegals and even citizens growing fields of illegal drugs , drugs that they have proven over the years they don't mind killing people to protect . Nor does he or his people care if a little girl is killed and eaten or just disfigured for life from an attack by a wild animal . He loves to spew his version of "reasonable gun laws/reasons for ownership" such as hunting , funny thing is he doesn't want you to be able to legally own the gun and have it in your home to go hunting with .
Re: "Loaded, Hidden Guns in National Parks Puts Visitors at "Hmm Gee Yogi , Idon't think the ranger will appreciate you packing the 1911... "well, f##k the ranger BooBoo"
Re: "Loaded, Hidden Guns in National Parks Puts Visitors at Thanks! Once again liquid has shot out of my nose. That's the second time now in less than a month.
Re: "Loaded, Hidden Guns in National Parks Puts Visitors at lmao, I will never get that phrase out of my head. That's perfect.
Re: "Loaded, Hidden Guns in National Parks Puts Visitors at Lol, priceless. Up in sequoia NF there was this one HOT (female) ranger that I would love to..... anyways. Like-wise here, I'll never get that phrase out of my head.
Re: "Loaded, Hidden Guns in National Parks Puts Visitors at WARNING - usurpation of the English Language . . . AGAIN. Why is it that ANY abrogation of our Second Amendment Rights is always "Reasonable" and "Sensible"!? I consider being prepared for self-defense as supremely "sensible"!! These raving idiots also don't want the sheeple to realize that CCW folks are very law-abiding people, in the main. We DON'T risk losing our rights by 'poaching' or plinking in National Parks! Simply banning the guns does NOT keep an idiot from doing so.
Re: "Loaded, Hidden Guns in National Parks Puts Visitors at Tango, thanks for the first good laugh of the day!! - Tristan
Re: "Loaded, Hidden Guns in National Parks Puts Visitors at Yup, their BS may keep me and my guns out of those places but it wont slow down the folks that want to take their portable meth labs or plant their pot fields from takeing guns there, it also wont stop poachers or folks who want to prey on unarmed people in remote locations from carrying and useing guns there, but of coarse we could never expect the idiots of the Brady bunch to comprehend that kind of common sense much less acknowledge it.
Re: "Loaded, Hidden Guns in National Parks Puts Visitors at When was the last time you ran into a "brady buncher" in the woods????
Re: "Loaded, Hidden Guns in National Parks Puts Visitors at Some of the greens/PETA folks are also Brady bunchers since guns could be used to shoot animals...chewing a persons leg off or not.
