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NPS ban in Maine?

1K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  SIGguy229 
#1 ·
Is this right, for a whole park?

I assumed that the limit would be on buildings and the like, not whole parks.

Anything anyone up to speed on this point?

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Proposal targets gun ban for parks - Bangor Daily News

Proposal targets gun ban for parks
Lawmakers seek return to earlier 'status quo'

By Kevin Miller
BDN Staff

AUGUSTA, Maine - Lawmakers heard testimony Wednesday on a proposal to reimpose
restrictions on guns within Acadia National Park and along the Appalachian
Trail in Maine in response to Congress' controversial decision to lift
long-standing limits on firearms.

Last year, Congress passed a law authorizing visitors to carry guns - both
concealed and carried openly - in national parks. Congress passed the law
after a federal judge overturned similar regulations enacted in the final days
of the Bush administration.

But the new law, which takes effect later this month, does allow states to
establish specific rules governing where and how firearms can be carried in
the national park system.


A proposal pending before the Legislature's Criminal Justice Committee, LD
1737, would essentially maintain the old law that has been on the books for
several decades.

That law generally prohibits firearms within park boundaries but allows
visitors to carry unloaded guns through the park as long as the firearms have
been dismantled or rendered inaccessible.

"This really keeps the status quo for rules that have been in effect since
1982," said House Speaker Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven. Pingree, whose
district includes parts of Acadia, said now is not the time to change a law
that could affect the tourism industry.

"It is important to the tourism industry, and it is important to families for
people to feel safe, and I think to set a standard any different than what is
currently in place in our state parks and national parks would be a bad
precedent," she said.

The new federal law, as well as LD 1737, would only affect gun owners who
desire to visit Acadia and the St. Croix Island International Historic Site or
to hike Maine's section of the Appalachian Trail. The laws would not affect
Maine's federally owned national wildlife refuges or the White Mountain
National Forest, where hunting is permitted.

Much of Wednesday's testimony focused on individuals who have a permit to
carry a concealed firearm.

While the bill, as drafted, would prohibit loaded concealed weapons within the
parks, the bill's lead sponsor, Sen. Dennis Damon of Trenton, said he would be
open to allowing permit holders to carry guns in the parks.
Representatives from the organization Friends of Acadia, the Maine Appalachian
Trail Club and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, meanwhile, urged the
committee to keep the laws that have been in effect for decades.

Marla O'Byrne, president and CEO of Friends of Acadia, cited FBI crime
statistics showing that there were 1.65 violent crimes per 100,000 visitors to
national parks in 2006. That compares to a nationwide average of 473.5 violent
crimes per 100,000 people that same year.

O'Byrne urged the committee to think back to times they hiked trails in
Acadia, rode the carriage roads or stopped at the Jordan Pond House for tea
and popovers.
"I doubt that many of you felt like you needed to have a firearm on you," she
said.

Robert Proudman, representing the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harpers
Ferry, W.Va., said between 1 and 2 million people hike the trail every year.
Yet during the past 40 years, there have only been eight murders - two of
which involved guns - along the 2,200-mile-long trail stretching from Georgia
to Maine.

Proudman expressed concerns about an increase in the number of guns on the
trail leading to additional accidents or deadly altercations.

"I believe allowing firearms on the Appalachian Trail is unnecessary, possibly
dangerous and, simply put, a bad idea," Proudman said. "Perhaps most
important, we don't want the culture to change."

Sportsmen and gun owners' rights groups, on the other hand, urged the
committee to let the federal law take effect without alteration.
John Hohenwarter, a lobbyist with the National Rifle Association, said the
federal law on parks was changed in response to the growing number of states,
including Maine, that allow the concealed carry of loaded guns. Hohenwarter
added that he would never think of hiking the Appalachian Trail without a gun.

"Crime does not stop at the federal park gate," Hohenwarter said. "The right
to protect yourself does not stop at the federal park gate."
George Smith, executive director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, said
holders of concealed carry permits are not the people the park service or the
state should be concerned about. They have already been cleared to carry a
weapon.

Instead, the law-abiding public has the right to protect itself from the
criminals who don't follow existing gun laws.
"Congress got this one right. You don't need to add" to it, Smith said.
[Emphasis added]
:aargh4:
 
#3 ·
Yes...the law permits carrying of concealed firearms, with a permit, provided it is legal to do so in the state where the park resides.

For example...in VA, you can carry into any/all State parks. With the new Federal law about to go into effect, National Parks will also be included.
 
#5 ·
That is what I understood.

However, some States are now saying that the State can regulate National Parks separate from elsewhere in the State. Some are even saying that the State can regulate one National Park separate from another/others.
 
#4 ·
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Proposal targets gun ban for parks - Bangor Daily News

Blah blah blah.....cited FBI crime statistics showing that there were 1.65 violent crimes per 100,000 visitors to national parks in 2006.

Yet during the past 40 years, there have only been eight murders -
That's great, unless you or a loved one happen to be in that 1.65 per 100,000 or 8 murder victims, then it kind of sucks. I prefer to be prepared for the worst for the same reasons I have fire extinguishers in my house, wear my seat belt when driving, wear a helmet when I ride my motorcycle. I don't plan on or expect a fire or crash but that precautions in case something does happen.
I guess some people just want to live in LaLa land and pretend everything is just fine and nothing bad will ever happen.
 
#6 ·
Robert Proudman, representing the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harpers
Ferry, W.Va., said between 1 and 2 million people hike the trail every year.
Yet during the past 40 years, there have only been eight murders - two of
which involved guns - along the 2,200-mile-long trail stretching from Georgia
to Maine.
Yeah...I'm not buying the 8 murders in 40 years stat at all.......probably higher. What about the numbers of rapes, assaults, robberies, and drug-related crime in the NPS?.....yeah...I thought so......
 
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