Monday, December 15, 2008
Politics / Woods Gunsmoke in the Smokies
Posted by Jeff Woods on Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 12:37 PM
Wonderful news today from the National Park Service: Starting in January, if you have a valid state permit, you can parade around with a gun in any of America's national parks.
The park service agreed to this rule change under pressure from all the champions of the Second Amendment in Congress. Park rangers were against it, saying it would put visitors at risk and increase poaching. In a letter to the Senate, they pointed out:
"[S]ince Wyoming has limited gun restrictions, visitors could see persons with semi-automatic weapons attending campground programs, hiking down park trails or picnicking along park shorelines at Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks."They added: "Moreover, wildlife will not remain easily viewable when it is being shot at." But what do rangers know? They're a bunch of killjoys. Imagine all the fun with guns we'll have at campsites in the Smokies. Drunken yahoos will blaze away at shadows in the night. If it's just your buddy innocently taking a whiz, well, he should have known better than to leave his tent at 3 in the morning. You'll have to watch for flying bullets, but you'll feel safer in the knowledge that macho gunmen are there to protect you from danger.
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