Getting guns into national parks

Jerry Patterson, the Lone Star state's gun-toting land commissioner, called Thursday for all those who cherish their Second Amendment rights to contact the federal government about proposed new park regulations.

The new rules, which were floated this week by Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne, would allow individuals to carry a concealed weapon in a national park if it's likewise legal for the individual to carry a concealed weapon on state lands where the national park is located.

If eventually adopted, the new rule could help diffuse an ongoing controversy over the state-owned Christmas Mountains. Patterson has resisted transferring the mountains to Big Bend National Park in  large part because of the National Park Service's restrictions on firearms.

"Federal bureaucrats simply shouldn’t be allowed to override the Constitution with administrative rules," said Patterson, who as a state lawmaker authored the Texas concealed handgun law.

 "When I'm in a state or national park, I'm armed. An unconstitutional rule promulgated by a federal bureaucracy is not sufficient to deny me that right," he said.

The public now has 60 days to comment on the Kempthorne rule. For more information, go to http://www.doi.gov/.

-- R.A. Dyer

Comments

[JR]

Yeah lets stop the carrying of firearms there so the criminals have better prey. I will be writing my politicians after this note. Everyone else do the same.

[JR]

I like Commissioner Patterson, and agree that an individual should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon in a national park if it's likewise legal for the individual to carry a concealed weapon on state lands where the national park is located. As a matter of fact, I do not see a problem with open carry in the remote regions of our national parks.

I am however a bit disappointed by the image of unsafe firearm handling portrayed above. Individuals should always keep their fingers off of the trigger of a firearm until the sights are on target and they are ready to discharge the weapon.

The four rules of firearm safety:

1. All firearms are loaded - There are no exceptions, period. Know this rule and live it. Handle all firearms accordingly.

2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy - If you are not willing to see a bullet hole in it, do not allow a firearm's muzzle to point at it.

3. Keep your finger off the trigger unless your sights are on the target - You do not gain any speed at all by keeping your finger on the trigger. Keep it out of the guard until you are sighted on the target. Practice this until it becomes second nature. If this rule were followed 100% of the time, there would be no negligent discharges.

4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it - Be aware of your surroundings whether on a range, in the woods, or in a potentially lethal conflict. Never shoot at sounds or at a target you can not positively identify

Rules so basic, even a politician could follow them.