Guns In National Parks
BY Herschel Smith
11 years ago
Guns in parks … it’s complicated:
Two months ago, as the busy summer season was winding down at Yellowstone National Park, 3-year-old Ella Marie Tucker found her father’s gun and shot herself.
Park rangers tried to resuscitate her. But Ella died, the victim of the first fatal shooting in the park since 1978.
Her death came almost four years after Congress passed a new law allowing loaded guns in national parks. At first, the tragedy seemed a realization of critics’ worst fears: a child’s death, all because guns were allowed in the quintessential embodiment of America’s backyard.
The reality is much more complicated.
Officials at parks throughout the country say the law change has so far affected little, beyond complaints from visitors surprised to see an assault rifle openly carried on a visitor’s shoulder or a handgun secured to a belt. Statistics from the National Park Service show no clear spike in crime, violent or otherwise. The parks had 282 million visitors last year, and police investigated six homicides. On the whole, parks appear safe.
In 2011 I filed a FOIA request to supply me with the NPS data on crimes in national parks after guns were legalized in 2010. The data can be found here. We are missing the metrics from 2011, but the overall trend for homicides can be summarized (redacted) as follows:
- 2005 – 17
- 2006 – 11
- 2007 – 9
- 2008 – 5
- 2009 – 4
- 2010 – 15
- 2011 – not included
- 2012 – 6
It isn’t complicated at all. Guns in National Parks doesn’t in the least lead to the catastrophe predicted by the gun control lobby. We can close the books on another fear mongering collectivist lie.
Prior:
Brady Campaign Lies About Guns
Backpacker Shoots Grizzly In Denali, First Life Saved Since Firearms Legal
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On November 18, 2013 at 9:50 am, Paul B said:
All you need to know about the anti gun groups is that they lie. The left lies and since they are an extension of the left, they lie as well.
Now, can we get people to pay attention to the truth? If recent history is any guide I would doubt that.
On November 18, 2013 at 10:30 am, GenEarly said:
“3-year-old Ella Marie Tucker found her father’s gun and shot herself.” That is the tragedy for this family; It could have occurred anywhere. Gun safety wasn’t practiced and always by a miniscule minority. So the insane answer is to ban all guns. Logic would dictate banning bathtubs as more “dangerous” but it isn’t about safety……well not your safety anyway, comrade.
On November 18, 2013 at 11:07 pm, Texas TopCat said:
Now, we need the right to be armed extended to the Corp of Engineers land. Most federal land in these parts is Corp of Engineers land and thus guns are not permitted in any form, even with a state carry permit.