OH NO!! GUNS IN THE NATIONAL PARKS! THE BLOODSHED, THE HORROR!!!
Can you see the headlines? They're already out there. They are absolutely without basis, and are frankly stupid. I think our President, a good Liberal, thought long and hard before signing this into law.
I too am a Liberal, though maybe a little to the Left of the President. I believe firmly in health care for all; I think it is something that should be a part of the rights of a citizen. I believe in most of the agenda of the Liberal wing of the Democcratic party except gun control, and I feel that a true Liberal needs to understand that this right, placed in The Bill of Rights, is part of the Liberty (notice the similarity between Liberal and Liberty) fought for by the Founding Fathers (and Mothers, for that matter), and guaranteed to us by the Constitution of the United States, is fundamental to who we are, and the concept of Liberty, particularly that a person has the right to protect themselves, their homes and family.
Now, I remember when Newt Gingrich took over the House of Representatives in 1995. A good bit of that was because Congress passed the Assault Weapons Ban and the Brady act in 1993 and 1994. Both acts had some common sense provisions, particularly the Brady Bill's background check, but both went over the top to assuage the unreasoning hate some "Liberals" had for guns in general. Both lost us the House in the '94 election, and we did not get it back until Mr. Obama brought sweeping change (supposedly; I have yet to see any, particularly on health care) in 2009.
Folks, a gun is not some evil thing that will automagically change an honest citizen into a rampaging bloodthirsty sociopath when he or she touches one!!! It is a tool, same as the tools people find in old fallow fields around here when they go out looking for arrow heads and spear points, and have the same functions. They are used for hunting, target shooting, plinking, killing vermin (wharf rats are a good target), personal protection, and unfortunately, all of our children in the Military are issued one with which to kill the enemies of our land. They are NOT inherently evil, nor will they make the holder so. If you believe this, you have been badly misinformed, and are thinking with emotions, not your brain. An honest, mild-mannered person is not going to change when they are carrying a gun; they are not going to go rabid and shoot you. They are liable to be more mild-mannered; pulling a gun on someone is a life changing experience, and you don't want to do it unless under extreme provocation, and your life is threatened. Once you do that, there is no way back, even if you are exonerated. The responsibility tends to make one cautious; i know many people who have permits and do not carry, because of the responsibility.
Now, in this state, a person carrying a gun in a park, especially a public area is not going to be obvious, due to the concealed carry law. The gun must be concealed from the public. Carrying a gun in the open in public can (but not always) open you up to an obscure law, "carrying a gun to the terror of the public", and you can be arrested for openly carrying. It is up to the law enforcement officer and the judge who hears the case.
Anyway, I feel that that poor couple who were killed by Gary Michael Hilton may have been able to repel him and get the law on him if either of them were armed. This predatory behavior of sociopaths and ruffians has been going on for some time in our National Parks - I remember when a female hiker on the Appalachian Trail was held by a psychopath and abused after he killed her boyfriend with a gun he was carrying illegally!!
So, am I worried about people being given a pass to carry a weapon on the National Parks? No. Not as long as I have the right also.
Note; though I am a Liberal, and somewhere between a Social Democrat and a Democratic Socialist (and no, I am not a Communist), I do own guns, I do shoot occasionally, and sometimes hunt (with indifferent success).
Now, I remember when Newt Gingrich took over the House of Representatives in 1995. A good bit of that was because Congress passed the Assault Weapons Ban and the Brady act in 1993 and 1994. Both acts had some common sense provisions, particularly the Brady Bill's background check, but both went over the top to assuage the unreasoning hate some "Liberals" had for guns in general. Both lost us the House in the '94 election, and we did not get it back until Mr. Obama brought sweeping change (supposedly; I have yet to see any, particularly on health care) in 2009.
Folks, a gun is not some evil thing that will automagically change an honest citizen into a rampaging bloodthirsty sociopath when he or she touches one!!! It is a tool, same as the tools people find in old fallow fields around here when they go out looking for arrow heads and spear points, and have the same functions. They are used for hunting, target shooting, plinking, killing vermin (wharf rats are a good target), personal protection, and unfortunately, all of our children in the Military are issued one with which to kill the enemies of our land. They are NOT inherently evil, nor will they make the holder so. If you believe this, you have been badly misinformed, and are thinking with emotions, not your brain. An honest, mild-mannered person is not going to change when they are carrying a gun; they are not going to go rabid and shoot you. They are liable to be more mild-mannered; pulling a gun on someone is a life changing experience, and you don't want to do it unless under extreme provocation, and your life is threatened. Once you do that, there is no way back, even if you are exonerated. The responsibility tends to make one cautious; i know many people who have permits and do not carry, because of the responsibility.
Now, in this state, a person carrying a gun in a park, especially a public area is not going to be obvious, due to the concealed carry law. The gun must be concealed from the public. Carrying a gun in the open in public can (but not always) open you up to an obscure law, "carrying a gun to the terror of the public", and you can be arrested for openly carrying. It is up to the law enforcement officer and the judge who hears the case.
Anyway, I feel that that poor couple who were killed by Gary Michael Hilton may have been able to repel him and get the law on him if either of them were armed. This predatory behavior of sociopaths and ruffians has been going on for some time in our National Parks - I remember when a female hiker on the Appalachian Trail was held by a psychopath and abused after he killed her boyfriend with a gun he was carrying illegally!!
So, am I worried about people being given a pass to carry a weapon on the National Parks? No. Not as long as I have the right also.
Note; though I am a Liberal, and somewhere between a Social Democrat and a Democratic Socialist (and no, I am not a Communist), I do own guns, I do shoot occasionally, and sometimes hunt (with indifferent success).
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