Retirees of National Park Service Organize to Oppose
More Guns in Parks
Coalition of National Park Service Retirees highlight
11 parks as examples of what visitors might encounter
Feb. 10, 2010 – A group of seniors – retirees of
the National Park Service - are up in arms over the Federal Government’s
plan for the national parks.
Assault rifles on Mather Point overlooking the
Grand Canyon? Handguns on the Filene Center concert lawn at Wolf Trap
in the Washington, D.C. suburbs? Shotguns at Lamar River Valley in the
backcountry at Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national
park?
These are just some of the things that Americans
can reasonably expect to see in national parks across the U.S. as of
February 22, 2010, when a dangerous new gun law will go into effect in
our nation’s national park areas. To mark this unfortunate development,
the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees (CNPSR) is highlighting
what visitors may soon experience in 11 representative national parks.
An amendment to the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of
Rights Act of 2009, authored by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), and promoted
by the NRA, passed by the Congress and signed into law by the President
on May 22 of last year, permits park visitors to possess firearms in
national park areas consistent with the laws of the state in which the
area is located.
This is a significant departure from
long-established, common-sense gun regulations that allowed visitors to
possess guns in parks only if they were stowed out of reach and
unloaded.
Doug Morris, a member of the CNPSR Executive
Council and a former law enforcement ranger and park superintendent in
the NPS for many years, said: “We believe that the public should be
aware of the consequences of Coburn’s amendment. While federal law
prohibits the carrying of guns in any federal building where federal
employees work on a regular basis, in many states there are few, if any,
other prohibitions.”
While scores of national parks will be impacted to
one extent or another, CNPSR highlighted the following 11 parks to show
the range of likely harms:
Yellowstone National Park (WY, MT, ID): In
the world’s first national park - Yellowstone, while watching Old
Faithful erupt you could be in the company of other park visitors
wearing holsters and hand guns. In the evening campfire circle, you may
sit next to someone who can legally carry a shotgun or rifle to that
special place. Anyone hiking in the backcountry can openly carry guns,
increasing the risk to other hikers and park wildlife.
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
(VA): Virginia’s gun laws are very permissive. The grounds of Wolf
Trap, including the “lawn seating area,” will be open to people carrying
firearms.
Grand Canyon National Park (AZ): Arizona’s
gun laws are very permissive and while standing on Mather Point,
enjoying the breathtaking view of the canyon, you could see another
visitor with an assault rifle slung on his shoulder. At your campsite in
the park’s campground, you could see guns prominently displayed in the
campsite next to you.
Mesa Verde National Park (CO): Colorado law
is very permissive about open carry of firearms except in some cities.
During your visit to Cliff Palace, you could be listening to the
ranger’s interpretive discussion while standing next to someone with a
handgun and holster prominently displayed.
Gettysburg National Military Battlefield (PA):
Pennsylvania is also a very permissive state relative to gun laws.
During your tour of the battlefield, you could encounter other visitors
legally carrying rifles – and not the historic kind.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park (NM): At the
evening bat flight program and even on the cave tours, you could be
joined by others openly carrying firearms. As you wander through the
park’s restaurant and gift store, looking for a bite to eat or a
souvenir to buy, other visitors might be seen legally carrying
firearms.
Everglades National Park (FL): Florida’s
gun laws are more restrictive, so you are not likely to encounter others
openly carrying guns while walking on the Anhinga Trail as you enjoy
some of the most spectacular wildlife and bird sighting anywhere.
Statue of Liberty National Monument (NY):
New York’s gun laws are very restrictive, and visitors to the Statue are
protected by laws prohibiting the open carrying of firearms.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (TN and NC):
This park is an example of one of the problems visitors will face with
the new law. In North Carolina, there are few gun restrictions and
visitors could be seen openly carrying guns. However, if you happen to
be a gun-carrying visitor, you will need a “carry permit” when you cross
into the part of the park located in Tennessee.
Mount Rainier National Park (WA): While
hiking the famous “Wonderland Trail” you could encounter other hikers
openly carrying handguns, rifles or shotguns.
Denali National Park and Preserve (AK):
While riding on an NPS-licensed bus operated by the park concessioner on
a day-long trip on the “park road” (the only way to get into the heart
of the park other than to hike) you could be sitting next to someone
with a handgun in a holster.
Bill Wade, chair of CNPSR’s Executive Council and
former superintendent of Shenandoah National Park said, “This is a sad
chapter in the history of America’s premier system of heritage areas. On
the heels of the Ken Burns documentary about the importance of national
parks to America and after a year of increased visitation to parks
despite a poor economy, this law will have a chilling effect on how
visitors behave in national parks.
“A feeling of safety and security will be replaced
by wariness and suspicion. This diminishes some of the “specialness and
reverence” our citizens have long accorded to their national parks.”
While many states, and therefore the national park
areas in them, will soon allow individuals to openly carry firearms,
most states are much more restrictive about concealed-carry, and most
require a permit to do so. Visitors with a permit from one state may or
may not be able to carry a concealed gun into a national park in another
state, depending on reciprocity agreements. Similarly, visitors who have
“long guns” in vehicle racks traveling from a park in one state to a
park in another state will have to understand the differing state
requirements.
Members of CNPSR strongly opposed this new law for
several reasons:
1)
More guns in national parks increase the likelihood of shooting at
wildlife and some historic resources, such as prehistoric petroglyphs.
2)
More guns in parks increases the risk to rangers.
3)
More guns in parks increases the risk to visitors in places like
campgrounds where disagreements, often fueled by alcohol, sometimes
occur.
4)
National parks have always been hospitable to visitors from around the
world and are seen as “sanctuaries” where people could get away from the
routines, threats and risks they face in their daily lives. But more
guns will change those perceptions.
5)
Until now, one regulation pertaining to firearms applied to all 392
areas in the National Park System. But now each of those areas will be
subject to the laws of the state in which it lies. This is likely to
lead to significant confusion by visitors traveling though parks in a
number of states.
6) Federal buildings in parks will now have to be signed to
prohibit firearms and conceivably security devices will need to be used.
About CNPSR
The more than 740 members of the Coalition of
National Park Service Retirees are all former employees of the National
Park Service with a combined over 22,000 years of stewardship of
America’ most precious natural and cultural resources. In their personal
lives, CNPSR members reflect the broad spectrum of political
affiliations.
CNPSR members now strive to apply their credibility
and integrity as they speak out for national park solutions that uphold
law and apply sound science. The Coalition counts among its members:
former National Park Service directors and deputy directors, regional
directors, superintendents, rangers and other career professionals who
devoted an average of nearly 30 years each to protecting and
interpreting America’s national parks on behalf of the public. For more
information, visit the CNPSR Web site at
http://www.npsretirees.org.
Note: “Up In Arms,” was a 1944 movie starring Danny
Kaye
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Coalition of National Park Service Retirees highlight
11 parks as examples of what visitors might encounter
While scores of national parks will be impacted to
one extent or another, CNPSR highlighted the following 11 parks to show
the range of likely harms: