NPSSometime this month, Dick Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, is expected to rule on the right to carry in National Parks. My opinion is that there is no question that any citizen anywhere in the country has the right to carry.

Unfortunately, the majority of comments that were received from the public on the proposed rule change, opposed any change at all. I predict that the rule will remain as it is now, thus placing legitimate gun owners and all citizens in jeopardy. As we all know, there are no criminals who will respect the rule. There are no animals who will let you be just because you have no self defense.

From the Tacoma News Tribune:

Decision expected on rule about guns in parks

The Department of the Interior is expected to announce this month its decision regarding changes in rules governing guns in national parks and wildlife refuges.

When he visited Mount Rainier National Park for the Oct. 10 opening of the new Jackson Visitor Center, Interior Secretary Dirk[sic] Kempthorne said the announcement would be made soon.

“We’re going through the process. We anticipated we’d get a lot of responses, and we did,” Kempthorne told The News Tribune.

At the end of April, the department proposed a change that would allow people to carry a concealed firearm in a national park or wildlife refuge if the individual is permitted to carry a concealed weapon and is authorized to do so on similar state lands in the state in which the national park or refuge is located.

The department received 130,000 to 140,000 comments on the proposal, said Chris Paolino, deputy director of communications for the department.