I made it into the local op-ed....sort of....

[Bobarino]

our local ABC affiliate has a "commentator" that spouts off about various topics. this time it was the guns in Nat'l Parks. he's a fairly liberal blowhard so you can imagine his stance.

here is the original piece :http://www.komotv.com/features/kenschram/17057371.html

By Ken Schram
Watch the story

My first reaction was that it sounded sort of reasonable.

But then I began to wonder: Are national parks so dangerous that people need to be allowed to carry guns in them?

Statistics don't even come close to holding up that theory.

So why would republican members of congress, and their NRA puppet masters, be pushing to allow people to pack pistols in their picnic baskets and backpacks?

Might it be an attempt to force Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to take an "anti-gun" vote before the election?

Gee, that'd be pretty irresponsible.

I mean playing the American public for dupes in order to score political points is certainly in the GOP playbook, but would they really stoop so low as to turn armed tourists loose in our national parks?

Actually, i think they would.

Never mind that there is not one iotas worth of justification for allowing pistol packing people into our national parks.

Never mind that national park rangers think the idea is totally ridiculous.

Yeah, at first i thought it sounded sort of reasonable.

But I was wrong.

Allowing guns in our national parks is a really stupid, irresponsible idea.

to which i replied with this email:

Mr. Schram,

It appears you don't really care about what the people want. The proposed rule change to allow the LEGAL carrying of weapons in National Parks in in direct response to a citizens letter writing campaign to their respective senators. In response, Senator Crapo wrote a letter to the head of the Department of the Interior, Kirk Kempthorne. The letter was signed by over 50 senators INCLUDING Democrats. Mr. Kempthorne's response can be found here: http://www.bighammer.net/images/022208_Kempthorne_response.pdf Those that wrote letters to their senators are fed up with being disarmed in a potentially dangerous environment while we are allowed to legally, with a permit, carry firearms virtually everywhere else.

Further, I'd sure love to see these statistics you talk about given that this article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003305418_safetrails15m.html states: "While neither the U.S. Forest Service nor the National Park Service keeps precise statistics about crime on federally protected lands, officers and rangers in Washington say that crime appears to be on the rise in the backcountry."

I have personally encountered a meth lab as well as a mother Black bear with cubs in tow on the trails in Washington's National Parks. I was lucky enough to see both before they saw me and high tail it out of there since I was obeying the law and did not carry my firearm with me in the Parks. Do you really think that changing the rules will encourage criminals to carry in the Parks? News flash, Ken. They already do. Illegally.

This is not just about Washington either. I'm sure you're aware that many of our Nat'l Parks butt up against the Mexican border and is home to or a thoroughfare for illegal immigrants who, as I'm sure you know, aren't always the most law abiding bunch as evidenced by their mere presence on US soil.

A quick search can turn up plenty of stories like this one: http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0802/p02s01-ussc.html

If you want to trust your safety and your life to a Ranger miles away, be my guest. No one is forcing you to carry a gun or even visit the Parks. If your life means so little to you that you would turn over your most effective means of defending it to a stranger that you most likely wouldn't be able to call to for help anyway, go right ahead. I'll take responsibility for my own safety and that of those who are with me, thanks.

A gun is just a piece of survival gear in the wilderness as far as I'm concerned. Did you know that firearm is part of the state required survival equipment for Alaskan Bush pilots? Those who know wilderness, know a gun is a very useful tool when it comes to being attacked by creatures with four legs, or two.

If you think our Nat'l Parks are safe havens, free from crime and bastions of peace and harmony with nature, you obviously don't get out much. Just ask Julianne Williams, Carole Sund, daughter Juli and friend Silvina Pelosso and Laura Winans. Oh wait, you can't. They were murdered in a National Park

Sincerely,

Bobarino

then on fridays, he publishes the public's comments on his stories. http://www.komotv.com/news/17092781.html

By Ken Schram
SEATTLE - Judging by the amount of "you don't know what you're talking about" e-mails, my commentary against allowing guns in America's national parks was about as popular as Kentucky Fried Chicken at a vegetarian picnic.

From Bruce Jackson: "I prefer to have my gun holstered at my side in national parks. The same as when I go to Wal-Mart or Home Depot. Guns save lives!"

Bobby (last name deleted): "A gun is just a piece of survival gear in the wilderness as far as I'm concerned."

Ken Jones: "My right to carry a firearm for self defense does not require your permission. (Just as) your right to pen stupid, irresponsible (commentaries) isn't dependent on my permission."

Bill Maness: "Go backwoods camping sometime ... when you hear the large animal snuffling outside your tent, tell me you wouldn't want a weapon handy, just in case your sleeping bag smells more appetizing than your last commentary."

Howard Stoppelman: "Lots of people carry guns whenever they go into the woods. … Screw the laws! You want to be eaten by a bear?"

And finally, from Wayne and Barbara Steen: "Our national parks are full of wild animals. ... Allowing ... guns ... is an ounce of prevention."

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my.

Thanks for writing everyone.

Have a great weekend.

hey at least he read it. still a blowhard though.

Bobby

 

[Sato Ord]

As I have stated before, you can't reason some jerk out of a position he wasn't reasoned into. Reason very seldom enters into the argument on the side of gun control. Those people want to live in a perfect utopia where violence is kept in check by the police who always arrive in time to save you from serious injury or death, and the good guys always make the bad guys go to jail to be rehabilitated into honest, hard working citizens. In national parks you simply push a button on your satellite phone (like we can all afford to shell out the bucks for one of those) and the rangers track your position and send a helicopter right to you.

Would you like the response team to bring you a Latte'?

Unfortunately the rest of us live in the real world where police response times in the city are often fifteen minutes or more, even in a life and death situation, and response times in the national parks, if your cell phone has service, are an hour or more, if they can even find you going on the description of the area you manage to give them.

As for protecting yourself from the wildlife: Haven't you people ever read about that magnificent surfer guy from California who walked among the Kodiaks of Alaska unharmed like he was one of them. He never went armed into the wilderness, ask him how to handle an aggressive bear. Oh wait, he was eaten alive! I've heard the tape they got from his camcorder that was on while the bear was dragging him from his tent, it isn't pleasant to listen to. That man did not die quickly or painlessly, (nor did his girl friend) and the rangers still ended up killing the bear.

Nope, can't see a good reason to carry a firearm into the back country, unless it's because you have a hankering to stay alive.

 

[Larry E]

It's good to read that Schram hasn't changed his opinions since I lived in Seattle. Don't hold your breath waiting for any sort of reason to change his mind or opinions, no matter how good you look in blue.

 

[Mr White]

All it'll take is one bear attack and he'll be calling for all bears to be banned from the national parks.

 

[rbernie]

you can't reason some jerk out of a position he wasn't reasoned into

I am *so* loving this quote. I must steal it and use it liberally (no pun intended)....

 

[Old Dog]

I wish I could say what I really think of Ken Schram, but it would not be taking the high road at all ...

I've e-mailed the knuckleh ... er, gentleman, numerous times whenver he spouts his misguided cra ... er, opinions, relating to guns, and not once has he deigned to respond.

I don't believe the guy is in the slightest interested in hearing opinions that conflict with his own.

By the way, I wonder when the last time Ken actually went for a hike in the woods (looks as though he needs the exercise)? Finally, I live a mile from the park where a mountain-biker was munched on by one of our local bears a few months back ... bear was never caught ... victim, severely injured, of course, was unarmed.

 

[modifiedbrowning]

Allowing guns in our national parks is a really stupid, irresponsible idea.

I think it would be pretty smart to have a gun if you run into the grizzlies and wolves we have here in Yellowstone. People have also been murdered in Yellowstone as well.