Packing Heat in the National Parks
Packing Heat in the National Parks
Ken Schram is a commentator on the local news here. His opinions are worth about as much as the average drunk's in a bar or Sean Penn's, but he gets a fair amount of exposure because he typically tows the western Washington liberal line. And this commentary is no exception.
there is not one iotas worth of justification for allowing pistol packing people into our national parks.
How about that troublesome little document we like to call the Constitution, which includes the Bill of rights in which we read that "the right of the PEOPLE to keep and BEAR arms shall not be infringed." We'll known round about June if SCOTUS will back my personal interpretation up on this, but in the meantime:
Are national parks so dangerous that people need to be allowed to carry guns in them? Allowing guns in our national parks is a really stupid, irresponsible idea.
Well, Mr. Schram...you do of course realize that when you go shopping at your local grocery store that people shopping with you are legally allowed to pack heat and do so, right? You also no doubt realize when you walk through the streets of Seattle that people walking along with you are legally allowed to pack heat and do so, right? So what specifically makes National Parks a place where legally armed citizens must leave their weapons behind? If carrying them in Safeway is NOT irresponsible, then why not Mt. Rainier National Park also? That dude chatting with the stock boy in the toilet paper aisle has a Ruger P95 9mm at his waist and the dude cooking brats over a campfire at Ohanapecosh has a Sig Sauer .45 strapped to his side...what is the difference?
As we know, there is NEVER, NEVER, NEVER any good reason to be packing heat in a forest.
Sorry, Mr. Schram, but the burden is on you to show how exactly allowing legally armed citizens to carry in a National Parks is irresponsible. Especially since you have somehow survived shopping with such citizens in your local supermarket.
Comments
My friends recommend a Glock 20 for hiking. I don't carry, but there's always someone in my party packing. I wonder what Ken would say about the two women murdered near Mt. Baker a few years ago? I wonder how the story might have been different if one of them had carried a pistol in their daypack? These TV blowhards always pick some innane topic to discuss while ignoring more troublesome societal ills. I with you...leaving the constitutional arguments aside for the moment, I'm sorry, I just can't believe that murders in national parks caused by law-abiding citizens packing guns is a problem that we need to worry too much about.
Sincerely,
Mike
Question: There's been ongoing debate about the meaning of the arms-bearing amendment. One side maintains that it refers only to duly constituted militia, while the other side says that it gives carte-blanche arms-bearing rights to all registered non-felon citizens. Does anyone know the status of this debate?