Carry in National Parks

The proposal to allow concealed carry in national parks is still under consideration.

The department received an estimated 100,000 comments during a public comment period that ended Aug. 8. Interior officials are now examining the submissions before announcing a final decision

If the new regulation, or more accurately lifting of a regulation, comes to be, it'll only change things in states that allow concealed carry in their state parks.

Those states are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.

I notice those do not include Tenn. or N. Carolina. Those are the states of the Smokey Mountains that I visit once in a while.

"We are all about the right to self-defense," he says. "We don't think people should forfeit that right when they go for a hike in the woods."

And I agree to the point of ignoring the present regulation. I carry when in national parks primarily because of the possibility of 2 legged predators. I usually don't worry about the 4 legged variety, but this will make one stop and think.

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