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1. Are gun laws state or federal laws?

2. How many parks are there in the USA?

3. Will visitors be allowed to carry guns into the parks?

4. Will they need special permits?

5. Will there be any restrictions?

6. What reasons are given in favour of and against visitors carrying guns into parks?

 

 

 

The federal government will lift long-standing restrictions on guns in national parks Monday, meaning that visitors with proper permits could pack heat along with camping and picnic gear to most of the 392 parks. The move concerns current and former employees of the National Park Service who are convinced that the move will damage the spirit of the nation's park system.

Depending on state gun laws, visitors will be able to carry concealed and loaded guns into parks, the Park Service said.

The District bans people from carrying firearms; Maryland law allows gun owners with permits to carry handguns and rifles. Virginia allows for open and concealed carrying with proper permits and has reciprocity agreements with 30 states. West Virginia, allows for open carrying but requires a state permit for concealed firearms. […]

Differing state restrictions make understanding the new law complicated, especially for parks situated in more than one state. Supervisors will have to ensure that tourists keep guns out of visitor centers and rangers' office buildings, because federal law bans firearms in federal facilities. But guns could be carried into private lodges or concession stands, depending on state laws. […]

In the Washington area, gun owners will be able to carry a firearm into the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, but not beyond the ticketed entrances to the Filene Center, the park's amphitheater.

"Whether you sit on the lawn or under the canopy, firearms are prohibited," said Park Service regional spokesman Bill Line. Private restaurants on the grounds will also ban weapons, Line said.

Congress lifted the gun ban last spring, after years of efforts by a bipartisan coalition that said differences in state and federal firearms laws made it difficult for gun owners to travel between state and federal lands. […]

National parks hosted about 275 million visitors in 2008, the agency said. There were 3,760 reported major crimes, including five homicides and 37 rapes. The agency does not note which crimes involve firearms. Crime is down across the system's parks, according to the statistics.

Bill Wade, president of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, said that could change Monday.

"Visitors are going to go to national parks with an increased amount of suspicions and concern," Wade said. Worse, he said, the new law will erase the park system's reputation as a place of solitude and safety. "People go to national parks to get away from things that they face in their everyday living, where they live and work. Now I think that social dynamic is really going to change," Wade said.

Scot McElveen, president of the Association of National Park Rangers, said that the new law violates the Park Service's original mission to serve as a preserve for the United States' natural resources and wildlife. […]

Critics are also concerned about the possibility of an increase in illegal hunting and poaching.

"There is a group of folks that will never break the law, no matter what, because they believe the law and want to keep their weapons," McElveen said. "But there's also a group in the middle that can be tempted by opportunity when they think that no one's around and no one will find out."

John Velleco, director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, said he thinks such concerns are misguided. "If poaching is a problem, go after the poachers. […] The new law will only make the parks safer. If anything, it's going to lead to fewer criminal attacks, because people will be able to defend themselves," he said.

 

 

1. What does ‘Md.’ mean?

2. What bill is mentioned in paragraph 2?

3. What changes will it produce?

4. Why do some people object to the bill?

5. Is the writer in favour of/against the bill?

6. What is your opinion on the matter?

In 2008, 493 people were murdered in Maryland, 72 percent of them with firearms. Sadly, this is not unusual. FBI studies show that the state has for years had one of the highest murder rates in the country, with guns used in the vast majority of homicides.

State Sen. Brian E. Frosh has introduced a bill, the Firearm Safety Act of 2010, that could save some lives. The legislation allows law enforcement officers to obtain court orders to wiretap those suspected of dealing in illegal guns. State law currently allows officers to listen in on the conversations of those suspected of murder, rape, gambling, insurance fraud and other crimes, but not illegal gun sales.

The bill also would tighten Maryland's relatively lax registration, licensing and record-keeping laws for legal purchases. Those seeking to buy guns, for example, would have to provide identification and could be asked to submit to fingerprinting; this simple requirement would help prevent straw purchasers from buying weapons for those legally barred from owning them, including violent felons.

Licensed gun dealers would have to keep records of all transactions and would be subject to audits by the state every two years. In recognition that alcohol abuse often contributes to violent acts, the legislation rewrites existing law to make it more difficult for a 'habitual drunkard' to legally obtain a weapon.

Gun-rights advocates have already started blasting the proposal as an attempt to violate the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. The legislation does nothing of the sort. Mandating tighter registration requirements while giving police officers more muscle to go after illegal gun sales would protect law-abiding citizens, gun-owning and non-gun-owning alike.

 

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