Thursday, May 29, 2008

"Only rangers need loaded guns in national parks"

Arizona Daily Sun editorial

"The recent armed carjacking at the Grand Canyon has again raised fears of violent crime in our national parks and led to a call to allow visitors to carry loaded weapons in self-defense. If there was a crime wave, either at the Canyon or in the park system generally, we might be more concerned. But here are the figures for 2006, the latest year for which data are available: Out of 272 million visitors, there were 11 killings, 35 rapes or attempted rapes, 61 robberies, 16 kidnappings and 261 aggravated assaults."

...

"As we've noted in this space before, national parks like the Grand Canyon are seen as sanctuaries not just for game animals but also humans seeking to connect with a natural grandeur that has little room for firearms. If society has drawn the line and banned guns from this country's special places, violators deserve especially long sentences as a deterrent. Combined with a beefed-up ranger presence at the busier parks, serious prison time for gun violators will send a message that the Park Service is as serious about violent crime as it seems to be about gun rights."

Now, I can certainly understand how a person incapable of defending himself would feel the need to hire more and more armed men for protection. With taxpayer dollars of course.

Problem is, there are those among us quite good at self-defense, and don't need to ask (demand?) our fellow Americans to fork over their hard earned bucks to employ even more hordes of bodyguards just to feel safe while out camping.

And how dare an editor of a rag like the Daily Sun take it upon himself to demand you and I disarm just because he can't cut the mustard. This slimeball would squeal like a stuck pig were someone to suggest an abridgment of the 1st Amendment but hasn't a qualm about eradicating the 2nd.

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