If a visitor sneaks a gun into Yellowstone and shoots the two killers, is that a crime?Sue

Surely the criminals wouldn't take their guns inside Yellowstone. There are signs saying they're not supposed to do that. All the Yellowstone campers are therefore safe, and need not worry.

Visitors do die within National Parks. Here is my tabulation for fatalities over the past couple of weeks, taken from the NPS Morning Report:

Twelve total fatalities - 3 in a plane crash, 1 suicide, 2 in motor vehicle accidents, 4 drownings, 2 falls (one while mountaineering). Also reported was successful use of bear spray by a NPS employee. This is a small sample, but I believe it is fairly representative. Falls and drownings are the preeminent hazards to visitors, year after year.

Surely the criminals wouldn't take their guns inside Yellowstone. There are signs saying they're not supposed to do that. All the Yellowstone campers are therefore safe, and need not worry.

OK folks. Here's the Equipped angle on this.


QUESTION: Is a gun a valid piece of equipment to include in a survival kit given the most likely scenarios you'd encounter in a place like Yellowstone park?


THE ARGUMENT FOR:
If you think it IS a good and valid piece of equipment, please cite, with evidence, not hypothesis, past situations where a person successfully used a firearm in a survival-related matter while in a national park or similar wildland. Explain how the use of a firearm resulted in a person or persons surviving a situation that otherwise would have been fatal.

Ponder,

We have ample cases where pepper spray has been used against bears and human beings.

There have also been cases where human beings have used firearms in self-defense, and these are documented as well.

The subject at hand is "escaped murderers in national parks" as a threat potential for your visit to Yellowstone and so on.

If we take the class of people we're concerned with as
A. "escaped murderers" or the a sub-class within that set
B. "escaped murderers who kill others while escaped" or further refine that to
C. "escaped murderers who kill others while escaped and in national parks"

The decision factor here is if you consider scenario "C" as one that is of sufficient probability to warrant carrying a firearm or now.

You add to this risk assessment the threat level you see from aggressive wild animals, in particular bears and you then come up with a total threat level where you would consider a firearm a piece of gear worth the weight and size in your kit.

You then add in the utility of the tool against other threats you might face, including hunger or a need to signal others in an emergency.

In my threat assessment, scenario "C" is highly unlikely, however, threat levels from wild animals are higher, and the need to signal or obtain meat higher still. So in my assessment, "C" is one of the smallest factors that contributes to packing a firearm - but I do pack one because it's a versatile tool for more than one reason.

So, you advocate carrying a firearm, and you cited specific and object reasons why in support of your position.

Fits very, very well into my "narrow" definition and is a perfectly acceptable and good contribution to a volatile topic.

Thanks.