Loaded Guns On The Blue Ridge Parkway
Family enjoying a picnic at the Chestnut Cove Overlook south of Asheville
For generations people have come to the Parkway to be inspired, soothed, awed and enlightened. Those who journeyed here as children years ago return now with children and grandchildren. For them the promise of the Parkway thrives not only in a quiet escape to natural splendor, but also in the joy of sharing a profound and unforgettable moment in a predictable safe environment. Loaded weapons have no place on the Blue Ridge Parkway or any national park.
There is another picture of reality and that is the one the public is more often to see on the Parkway now than one did even years ago — a national park ranger with a fully loaded firearm on one side of his utility belt and a stun gun Taser on the other. I am somewhat conditioned for this experience because I am around it so often; but I admit, there is a always a slight angst of uncomfortableness in being in this proximity. I resolve my issue each time with the question — am I glad that this guy is here standing next to me or in the overlook? The answer is always “yes”.
Now Senator Tom Coburn – R-Oklahoma – is advocating for guns in our national parks and has introduced a bill that would allow gun owners to carry loaded, accessible firearms into national wildlife refuges and parks, including the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. See related story in the Asheville Citizen Times.
