Comments (16) Jump to Comments Form

1. 

   Dale Hopson said, 6 months ago

   I’m for this… fair is fair!

2. 

   motivemagus said, 6 months ago

   Support your right to arm bears! (It had to be said.)

3. 

   Anyol'tomcat said, 6 months ago

   As long as they are well-regulated bears so give them sufficient prunes and granola along with that ammunition.

4. 

   harleyquinn said, 6 months ago

   Laugh if you want but tell that to that gal in George who was jumped raped and killed. The guy they caught admitted to stalking her in the park because he knew she would not be armed there.
   But yeb The right to arm bears I am all for it! As long as they pass a back ground check and safety course. Althou it would be hard for them to get a consel and carry permit? where would they hide it?

5. 

   Tigger said, 6 months ago

   When Animals Attack!

   Tim Bedore is Right On target.

6. 

   Corosive Frog said, 6 months ago

   Don’t forget to bring your gun in the shower, that’s where they always get attacked in the movies.

7. 

   dtroutma said, 6 months ago

   As a former NPS Ranger, cased and unloaded guns were always okay. NOW the bears will be packing concealed loaded weapons, and automatics with an ATF license, and there will be 50 state laws to go by instead of one simple rule. I’ve handled a LOT of bears, and never had a fear of them, though a healthy regard for their power. Bison and Moose are actually more dangerous statistically. But the REAL danger statistically, is humans with guns. Breaking up campground arguments between “visitors” just became a LOT more dangerous than dealing with wildlife, or random, and rare, crimes in the parks.

8. 

   motivemagus said, 6 months ago

   IrishCook - ever looked up how many handgun deaths a year in the US are attributable to accident or family member?

9. 

   fennec said, 6 months ago

   Most people are not well enough trained to use guns for self defence. Isn’t that true in your experience, dtroutma?

10. 

    dtroutma said, 6 months ago

    Something over 90% of people using guns for defense end up getting shot (not necessarily fatally) themselves.(It’s in the DOJ data) ABC 20/20 did a recent program that very well showed that even TRAINED people without actual experience buy the farm. It’s an actual biological change that turns a marksman on the range into a hazard. Our local cops (2) emptied four clips (semi-auto 9mm) at a guy 20 feet away who fired one round at them from a .22 revolver, and never hit him- he shot himself. I’ve also disarmed an armed robber who was so dumb he didn’t see me walk up to him as he held a gun on someone. Also, on Dave Garroway’s program in the 50’s, they did a story on old west gunfights. The average event the guys reloaded 3-4 times before hitting anything. That’s why most “gunfighters” earned their reputations shooting someone in the back, like Bill Hickock bought it. “Self defense” is highly over-rated.

11. 

    motivemagus said, 6 months ago

    IrishCook - allow me to demonstrate that I use and understand logic by providing you a simple example.
    You are correct that many people die in automobile accidents every year – approximately the same number as died in the total Vietnam War (not counting post-war issues): 40,000-50,000.
    And what do you know! Driving is licensed, people are forced to take training and are not allowed to drive unless they pass standards, and most states check up on your ability on a regular basis in case your ability has declined over the years. Furthermore, car construction and sale is regulated to provide safety – seat belts, air bags, required impact standards (this is why the Smart Car took so long to get here – they had to redesign it for American standards of safety), gas tank design standards, etc., etc. Most states have required seat-belt laws; all of them have drunk-driving laws, and we have speed limits as well, in part because slower speeds are safer ones.
    By contrast, gun licensing standards are far lower – and those that are proposed get shot down (sorry) regularly by the NRA and their bought-and-paid-for Congresspeople. The idea of introducing trigger locks roused outrage, but that’s minor. If someone proposed six weeks of required training before you could buy a gun, and different licenses (and certification) required for a rifle (as is true for cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses), you could hear the howls in Australia.
    So let’s apply logic: guns aren’t anywhere near as regulated as they could be, and with relatively little we might be able to reduce our 10,000 handgun deaths a year by an order of magnitude. A thousand deaths, by the way, would still be a hundred times higher than most industrialized nations.

12. 

    lalas said, 6 months ago

    So HQ you’re suggesting that joggers carry their guns with them?

13. 

    J0D0 said, 6 months ago

    HQ -

    That “… gal in George [sic] …” was named Meredith Hope Emerson.

    Nowhere in the extensive local coverage this crime received is there any indication that the perp, Gary Michael Hilton, “… admitted to stalking her in the park because he knew she would not be armed there.” as you claim.

    In fact, Dawson County (Georgia) District Attorney Lee Darragh stated at Hilton’s sentencing that “he chose her because she was a female alone. It was his sole purpose to acquire her (bank) cards and her PIN numbers.”

    check out the story here:

    http://onlineathens.com/stories/020108/news_20080201031.shtml

    Can you show me any documentation to support your claim that this whacko Hilton ever, to anyone anywhere at any time, stated that he targeted Ms.Emerson because she would not be armed at the location of her abduction?

    Why is this important? Maybe because using the victim of a particularly repugnant crime to make a specious argument (and in such a glib manner) is itself repugnant.

    Dtroutma - thanks for your comment - spot on.

14. 

    believecommonsense said, 6 months ago

    NRA is for it, law enforcement, including park rangers, is against it …. guess we know who Congress listens to

15. 

    Dale Hopson said, 6 months ago

    “Remember the golden rule… the one with the gold makes the rule”

16. 

    dtroutma said, 6 months ago

    Irish, check out those facing A GUN, even with a gun. The low figure is for general assaults, NOT confronting a gun! Role play- you stand behind a 7-11 counter and I point a gun at you(let’s use paintball ammo), you reach for a gun in a holster, hip or shoulder, or pull a gun from under a counter–I’d bet I can put a full clip in your chest before you get a muzzle cleared. Guns may be superior to knives, baseball bats, etc, but against a drawn, aimed, gun, with a competent criminal, you bought the farm, every time.