“We do not believe that the unrestricted ability to carry weapons is consistent with our mission to provide every visitor with safe, enjoyable recreational experiences in our treasured and nationally-renowned state park system.” – Delaware state environmental secretary David Small in Judge upholds ban on guns in Delaware state parks, forests [via washingtontimes.com]

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43 COMMENTS

  2. How does lawful carry of firearms automatically equate with “unsafe”?

    Similarly, how does unarmed and defenseless automatically equate with “safe”?

    • Unarmed and defenseless a LOOONG way from a 911 response.

      “Unarmed in the wilderness or the forest a person may well find themselves at the mercy of men with no mercy.” – Paul Harvey (No relation to Rupaul.)

      • How many of those State Parks can you even get a reliable cell phone signal to call 911. If you do get through the first responder will probably be Ranger Smith, if he’s not too busy busting Yogi Bear for stealing pic-a-nic baskets.

        • It’s delaware. You can drive from one corner to the other end of the state the long way on back roads and through “traffic” in about 2 hours. The only rural part is the southern half of the state and I lived a few miles south of DE until 16 years ago (and my parents still live there). I think all state parks have cell service and are adding wi fi. I was thinking about camping there next year so I have an excuse to get out of my parents house and avoid Maryland , but no longer.

      • “Unarmed in the wilderness or the forest a person may well find themselves at the mercy of men with no mercy.”

        For some reason that conjures up images of Ned Beatty.

  4. Must be hard to recreate in those parks, what with a cop behind every blade of grass to keep it all “safe.”

    Or is that not necessary because the only threat to”safety” is people who will obey the laws n not bring their guns?

    I get it now. People who obey the rules are such a danger. My bad.

  6. I didn’t realize Delaware was big enough to even have a city park much less a state park. Isn’t the state covered in buildings for banking due to their lax corporation tax and credit card interest laws? Guess they don’t want anyone leaving the park and robbing a bank.

    • Nah! Funny, poignant, and somewhat true. That’d be Wilmington, but there’s more to DE than Wilmington. Also, it wouldn’t really do any good to rob a bank’s office building, they don’t keep the money there.

  7. I grew up on a 10 acre lot in on the edge of a small town, where a small patch of suburban quickly turned backed into a rural landscape. I used to walk this property for fun, but after having to deal with aggressive dogs, both stray and those belonging to neighbors, various wildlife such snakes and the occasional rabid raccoon or possum, I carried a pistol on my treks. So tell me, if I had to deal with all that on 10 acres, what am I supposed to expect from something as large as a state park, and how am I supposed to defend myself while within?

  8. The Infringement continues with government overreach of authority without any accountability in legislation resulting in death of citizens.

    Perhaps a new rule. For every citizen murdered and proven a gun would have saved their lives, a legislator is randomly selected via lottery to die as the victim did. Infringement would end in a fortnight.

  9. “… safe, enjoyable recreational experiences in our treasured and nationally-renowned state park system.”

    Ah, no guns *here* because “We’re Special!”.

    Heard every damn time the prospect of armed self-defense is about to happen. You should have heard the pearl-clutching and great gnashing of teeth when Florida was about to go concealed carry in the late eighties.

    “Our precious tourists!” And then what always happens happened.

    *Nothing*, except a gradual drop in violent crime matching the national downward trend, except in Democrat controlled urban areas, of course!

    Merry X-Mass all, myself and all the good POTG throughout our Nation got our present for the next 4 years running on November 8, 2016….

    Cheers!

  10. ‘…the unrestricted ability to carry weapons…’

    Either he has no idea what the meaning of the word ‘ability’ is or they stop you when you enter the park, frisk you and search your car for weapons. Otherwise the state has done nothing to restrict your ‘ability’ to carry weapons into the park. The only thing they’ve restricted is your natural and civil right of self defense without fear of despotic retribution.

  11. Gee I thought Delaware was “renowned” for Slow Joe Biden©?You TOLD us to get a shotgun! And I did…

  12. I wonder if this law is more directed at the Yahoos shooting up old TVs with their AK-47’s within state parks than the folks carrying pistols on their hips.

    • Even then, who cares? That’s littering, not a “safety issue”. Nail the litterer’s nuts to the wall for all I care, but don’t infringe upon my rights.

      • There’s a definite safety issue to people shooting like idiots in a park. But that’s the issue that should be addressed, not people who aren’t doing that.

  13. Whats this “WE” crap? We, as in oveersers, we, as in political elite. We, as in only we know whats best for our serfs. What utter contempt for free American citizens.

  14. Why should I go where the pistol on my hip is unwelcome? I generally avoid such places, and that means I avoid spending my money there. South Carolina is back on my go there list of places because they decided my GA weapons carry license is good to go. Now if Georgia would just settle the tiff they have with Virginia!

    • I agree when it comes to things like private stores but taxpayer funded public attractions are a different story.

  16. “We do not believe that the unrestricted ability to carry weapons is consistent with our mission…”

    1) It’s not unrestricted. We don’t want to carry hand grenades, just a gun. Hell, not even an automatic!
    2) You can say it’s ‘inconsistent’ but that doesn’t make it so; a better question would be whether the rules you are making actually do anything. If not, it doesn’t matter.
    3) Fuck your mission. Your diddly little ‘mission’ does not- or should not- come above the Constitution or the right of people to defend themselves.

  19. Yet we hunt in state parks regularly in delaware. We had a pro gun governor years ago (Mitner) who gave us a lot of goodies but since then a parade of anti gun AG (Biden) and governors.
    Open carry is legal only because it’s not specifically illegal. Watch for that to change at some point.
    People carry in parks concealed all.the time. There are homeless people, MJ farmers, and even still operators in the parks not to mention dirt bags looking to rob and rape joggers.
    I’ve not heard or read of anyone getting patted down or searched for guns. If you pop a creep in self defense they might try to charge you but if you save your life, or another, they would be embarrassed to do so.

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