Firearms Allowed in Parks

John Muir may very well be spinning in his grave after new law allowing people to carry concealed firearms into national parks, including to the Muir Woods National Monument, came into effect on February 22nd. The beginning for this law to come into effect was under the Bush administrations which overturned a law put in place 25 years before during Ronald Regan's time in office. It was overturned by the Supreme Court which said that Americans have a constitutional right to possess a firearm.

The new law allows visitors to carry a concealed weapon, as long as they follow the laws of the state that the park is located in. Visitors are being strongly encouraged to do their research ahead of time so that they encounter no problems upon arriving in the parks.

There is some criticism of the new laws though. John Waterman, the President of the U.S. Park Rangers Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police has spoken out against the law on the basis that allowing untrained and unlicensed people to carry firearms into the parks is an "invitation to disaster." He also says that the change in the law will affect the family friendly image that parks portray.

The NRA has welcomed the change and says that it will help to enhance the self-defense rights of "Law abiding Americans"

The old laws were put into place by the Regan Administration to counter poachers in parks and all evidence shows that they worked. Visitors will now be able to carry a gun into all but 20 of the 392 park services locations, including Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Only time will tell if these new laws are going to work out as supporters are hoping for, but it will be an interesting news topic to monitor.