Loaded, concealed guns become legal in national parks

The rule has drawn two lawsuits. It's backed by many gun-rights groups, as well as the Bush Administration, but is opposed by several groups representing current and former National Park Service employees.

Here are some answers to what the change means:

Q: What's the new rule?

A: You can carry loaded, concealed guns in a park controlled by the National Park Service or a wildlife refuge controlled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service if the state laws where the parks and refuges are located allow concealed firearms — which Arizona does — and you have the proper concealed weapons permit. The rule change, however, does not allow the guns to be taken into federal buildings in the national parks and refuges. A ban remains on hunting and target shooting in national parks.

The new rule doesn't affect national monuments such as Ironwood Forest northwest of Tucson that are run by the Bureau of Land Management. BLM doesn't restrict firearms possession.

Since 1983, the federal government had allowed in national parks guns that weren't loaded, or that were in a trunk or otherwise inaccessible while driving. Before, no firearms were allowed in national parks.

Q. Why the change?

A: Interior Department spokesman Chris Paolino cited two letters signed by 51 U.S. senators saying the ban impinges on the rights of law-abiding gun owners. Since the BLM and the Forest Service allow firearms, "these inconsistencies . . . are confusing, burdensome and unnecessary," said one letter, whose signers included Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Q: What does the change mean for the average person?

A: "I think it is impossible to predict" how many people will enter Saguaro National Park with loaded guns, said Sarah Craighead, the park's superintendent. Saguaro is the only national park in the Tucson area.

Some Saguaro staffers feel that some visitors may put themselves in hazardous situations knowing they are armed, said Bob Love, the park's chief ranger.

"There's always the concern about saguaros being used for target practice," Craighead said.

Authorities find five to 10 plants vandalized yearly inside the park, Love said.

They're concerned that people with guns might shoot rattlesnakes and other wildlife, particularly since park staffers have heard a few visitors say things like " 'the only good snake is a dead snake,' " Love said.

In a letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Tucson, who is against the new rule, warned that the change could result in deadly confrontations or more gun accidents. Park Service law-enforcement agents will also be put at greater risk, he said.

In Arizona state parks, with no gun restrictions, there's been no reports of these problems, said State Parks Department spokeswoman Ellen Bilbrey.

Q: Why bring a gun to Saguaro National Park?

A: "I view carrying a gun as kind of an ultimate insurance policy, just in case," said Green Valley resident Fred Lawrence, who was taking target practice Thursday at Pima County's Southeast Regional Park Shooting Range. He noted that Arizonans with concealed weapons permits must have no criminal record and take safety training.

If you're out in the back- country, "you don't know what animals are running around out there," said Kevin Bacon, another Green Valley resident at the shooting range. "You get a rabid coyote. . . . It's been documented that there are mountain lions and bears around here. I wouldn't go in there to hunt them, but there is no sense in walking in unprotected."

Concealed weapons permit- holders are "statistically the most well-behaved people in society," said Charles Eller, secretary of the Arizona Citizens Defense League, since only 971 of 117,684 such permits issued in Arizona since 1994 have been revoked.

No records exist of lions or bears attacking people in Saguaro National Park. Two rabid foxes have attacked people in the past five years, Love said. Q: What do park visitors think?

A: More than 50 retirees gathered at Saguaro National Park East Thursday morning for their monthly "desert breakfast," featuring quiche, wine and champagne, and most interviewed opposed the rule.

"What might start out as a nice little party might end up with people getting shot," said Vivian Kapolka, of Davenport, Iowa. "I have nothing against rifles or target shooting, but (having) concealed weapons is a little different. Are we so frightened of each other that we have to carry a weapon?"

Tim Placey, of Peru, Maine, just reapplied for a concealed weapons permit but doesn't feel they're needed in national parks.

"It's nature, it's pristine, it's nice. There's enough places where you can carry a weapon. Why national parks?" said Placey, who, like the others on the outing, winters at the Rincon Country East RV Resort, 8989 E. Escalante Road.

Q: Are national parks dangerous?

A: Nationally, their crime rates are lower than many similarly sized communities, said Jerry Case, until recently the Park Service's chief of regulations. In Saguaro National Park, four assaults — but no rapes or murders — occurred from 2003 through 2007. Forty-nine serious crimes occurred then, including burglaries, larcenies, motor-vehicle thefts and robberies.

"If you are saying in five years only 49 people have been victimized, I would suggest to you that's a good reason to get rid of the regulation," Eller said, adding, "I'm not trying to tell you national parks are the most dangerous places you could go, but they're also the farthest from help."

Backers are concerned about the possibility of running into illegals or drug smugglers through areas in and near Saguaro National Park West, en route to Ironwood Monument, although the BLM says that most illegal immigrants in the monument come through the Tohono O'Odham Nation, not the park.

Q: What about the National Rifle Association?

A: The NRA believes that "law-abiding citizens and those who have gone through legal channels should not be prohibited from protecting themselves and their families while enjoying national parks," said NRA spokeswoman Rachel Parsons.

Q: What's next?

A: Lawsuits have been filed against the rule by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a gun-control advocacy group; and by the National Parks Conservation Association and the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees. They say the Interior Department violated federal law by not doing an environmental review.

Interior Secretary-designate and U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado didn't sign the letter advocating the new gun rule but told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel in Colorado last month that he thought it was "sensible."