Hey Tom,

Thank you very much for your thoughts. I think that you have made some solid points. I still don't think that anyone has answered Tony's question about a citation anywhere which indicates that the softening of the gun ban would be aimed at folks with CHLs.

Having said that, I think that I agree with you on most points. You are right, I am most concerned about folks who are not comfortable in their own skins having them available to them. I do believe that holding a gun can give a sense of false security when it is not warranted.

A similar (but hardly exact) example of this are some photos I took of a griz the last time I was in Yellowstone. I got lambasted by a few folks for being 'too close' even though I felt that I was well covered by both a ranger and a large truck. The truth was, in retrospect, I probably WAS a bit too close. The bear could have taken me down in 30 seconds had it wanted to. The ranger and his taser, pepper spray and rifle were not a safety blanket.

I do worry that loosening the restrictions on weapons in the back country may have an impact on the other critters who are in the parks for whom this is supposed to be a sanctuary. I realize that this is an opinion, but I worry that some folks might use the weapon as a 'safety blanket' and wind up putting themselves (or worse) the critter, in danger. As you point out, pepper spray may be more effective against a bear - but even pepper spray reportedly has questionable impact. Carrying any deterrant is only as good as the common sense that goes into their usage.

The one thing I do not particularly care for the use of the term 'liberal' as a nasty 7 letter word though because someone may have a differing opinion on the use of guns in the park. I think you will find that most of the folks here who are in support of the ban are gun owners and hunters (or folks who have hunted in the past). Even I, who will jokingly refer to myself as a New York Liberal, am a staunch supporter of the Second Ammendment. I do think, however, that it is very possible to be both pro gun and at the same time thoughtful about their proper place. This is NOT to imply that if you disagree with me that you are not being thoughtful, LOL. I am fine with folks making conversation where we don't agree on something...just not the marginalizing of an opinion with a stereotype (LOL, I am also ignoring the City Slicker one).

Cheers
James