Government lifts gun restrictions in National Parks

On Monday the government lifted it's long-standing regulation on carrying firearms in National Parks. The new law, which comes from a bill President Obama signed last May, will allow people to carry loaded and concealed weapons, as long as they are in accordance with state law. The policy for each National Park will be subject to specific state laws, although for all Parks it will be illegal to carry firearms into visitor centers or any other federal facilities. Some groups, including the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees and the Association of National Park Rangers, claim that the new law will undermine the purpose of national parks and potentially lead to more poaching and other crimes involving firearms. Said Bill Wade, president of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, "People go to national parks to get away from things that they face in their everyday living, where they live and work. Now I think that social dynamic is really going to change." Read more at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/18/AR2010021805124.html. While I see the constitutional reasoning behind this decision and this bill (specifically the 2nd Amendment), allowing guns in National Parks just rubs me the wrong way. I agree with Wade that allowing guns will severely change the feel of the Parks, as there will no longer be a sense of getting away from everything and simply enjoying nature. There is now going to be a slight sense of uneasiness whenever I go to a National Park, which is too bad. Oh well, the Constitution is the Constitution, and the 2nd Amendment is not going away.