National Parks

[Vicious-Peanut]

Anyone know what the punishment is for having a gun in a national park? I will be spending a few days in one and hogs regularly come in and root around the campsites nearly every night and black bear roam them sometimes also. My main concern is the parks location and who might find their way in. I'm not going to ask you to disclose this information, but I wonder if anyone may have broken this silly law against guns in the parks? I'm not saying I'm taking one, I was just curious about it.

 

[LAR-15]

Do you really need a gun against hogs?

They can be mean

No guns in parks and if that bothers you, don't go to one

 

[razorback2003]

Park Reg

I am not a lawyer, but you would be breaking a park regulation, kind of like drinking at campsites where they don't allow alcohol, shooting fireworks, or being like an 18yr old raising cane late at night with a group of buddies. I would bring a handgun and carry it discreetly if you feel the need for protection. I would not use it unless i absolutely had to for protection, not for nailing hogs. Do not tell anyone you have it and also carry a gun that you have a lot of money in, or high sentimental value (handed down from grandpa). You'd probably get slapped with a traffic ticket type fine and your gun maybe taken, but i don't think it would be the end of the world as in going to jail for a night like DWI/DUI. People whine that they you are a felon for carrying in a national park and that is completely false....again a park reg is nothing but at very worst comparable to a low level misdemeanor. Jaywalking, speeding 4 miles over, and not using a turn signal are about the same thing that i wouldn't lose sleep over. I wouldn't worry too much about the silly park regs keeping me from carrying a small handgun for protection either. I value my life much more than a slap on the wrist.

 

[wyocarp]

Mine was a $190 fine. Paid like a traffic ticket.

 

[texfed]

Hunting firearms are permitted in national parks as long as they remain locked in the vehicle. The only reason for this is that a lot of hunters camp at a park and hunt on private land nearby!.....Open display or discharging is a violation.

One thing to keep in mind..at all National Parks, violations are in front of a Federal Judge, it's quite different from the state. I had to transport a fellow once , that had been found guilty of DWI in a national park....he got 6 months...now the end of his tale was ..he served it in a level 1 federal prison, even though it was a misdemeanor!

One other little piece of advice...once you enter federal parkland property..state law is non applicable only federal law is! Most people are not aware of this till they screw up!

By the way....If you don't like hogs and they happen to be at your campsite...make friends with em because you can't shoot em! Big Bend for instance has javalina that will sometimes pester you to death since a lot of visitors illegally feed em.

Big Bend has an illegal alien problem infrequently also....if any of this kind of stuff bothers you...don't go armed ready to 'fight' back..just don't go! That's the way it is.

 

[justice4all]

http://www.nps.gov/grba/parkmgmt/hunting-regulations.htm

Max $5K fine and 6 months lockup.

 

[Vicious-Peanut]

Whoa, alot heftier punishment than I thought it would be. Thanks for the information guys.

 

[Smurfslayer]

not quite

One other little piece of advice...once you enter federal parkland property..state law is non applicable only federal law is! Most people are not aware of this till they screw up!

This is not fully accurate. NPS LE staff have statutory authority to enforce both federal law, (and cfr) as well as state law. State law is ineffectual in as much as it conflicts with any federal law or regulation. IOW, it means nothing to NPS that you have a state carry permit since they don't honor permits except the ones they issue.

Now, if you have the perfect set of circumstances like for instance, Mr. Heller, you would certainly triumph over NPS in court at some point against their current regulation. How long and how much money it would cost is a separate issue.