Congress votes to allow loaded firearms in national parks

Pro-gun forces won a major victory in Washington on Wednesday when Congress voted to allow people to carry loaded weapons in most national parks and refuges. The action was a major defeat for supporters of gun control, who earlier in the year won a court reversal of a Bush administration policy that first lifted the restrictions on loaded firearms on those public lands. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, was an outspoken supporter in the House. He has been asking for the rule change since 2007. "Murders, rapes, robberies and assaults happen each year on National Park Service land, and the victims don't have the right to carry a firearm and protect themselves,'' Young said in a prepared statement. "The Second Amendment grants us the fundamental right to protect ourselves. Anyone who knows me knows that I will always defend our right to bear arms and protect ourselves and our loved ones. Current Park Service Regulations require that firearms transported in national parks be unloaded and encased. This makes them useless. Guns are allowed in most park areas in Alaska, and that should be the case across the country."...Anchorage Daily News