"Escaped Arizona Inmates Believed to be Hiding in Yellowstone Park"

The excape of the Arizona inmates got my interest.

Yesterday a 61 year old couple were killed while car camping with their trailer in Mew Mexico.

This morning an Idaho APB came across the air for a New Mexico car driven by the excapees.

I sat in the back of my truck hoping they would pull in for a hold up.

Currently the car has been found and the inmates are communing with with nature and all of the Yellowstone campers.

I hope another poor couple are not killed because of the lack of firearms while camping.

I guess they caught that killer grizzly in Yellowstone a few days too soon...

I wonder... if a bear kills a couple of human killers/criminals, does the bear get a steak or a bullet?

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

Sue

The reward is currently up to $40,000. Plead guilty and pay the $100 fine,

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.

Guns are allowed in Yellowstone.
As of February 22, 2010, a new federal law allows people who can legally possess firearms under applicable federal, state, and local laws, to legally possess firearms in this park.

The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, was enacted May 22, 2009 and will become effective February 22, 2010. Section 512 of this law; Protecting Americans from Violent Crimes, supersedes the uniform treatment of firearm possession in the national park system outside Alaska under the regulations found at 36 C.F.R. 2.4.

See here for more details.

That's good. I knew about that issue, but I thought it was still tied up because some idiots were holding it up for lack of an environmental study (???) Glad to know it finally went through!

I am forced here to insert the obligatory warning that goes with all gun threads.

The topic is already starting in the wrong forum....tread lightly.

Martin is correct. It is not a political issue. It is a survival issue.

The issue is being "Equipped To Survive".

There are many situations that require the survival tool to be in your hand. If you are 61 years old and sitting at the picnic table and the threat is between you and your camp trailer, you may have a bad day.

If you are 35 years old and feel yourself and your sleeping bag being dragged out of the tent, planning and equipment will determine your fate.

Both situations relate to Yellowstone and the Arizona excapees.

MANY SITUATIONS REQUIRE THE TOOL BE IN YOUR HAND! Not 5' away on the table. Not 20' away in the truck or closit. Not 2' away in your pack!

Pepper spray, firearms or other options may have saved the lives of recent victims. They may not have but the odds would have changed.

I hunt out of the Pacific Creek Campground at the NE corner of the Teton National Park. The "Inside the Bag" equipment is a 6 oz can of pepper spray and a Glock 10mm. The Glock would be my last choice if I was standing up and had 5 seconds to make another selection.

Both the bear attacks and the excapee attack offer some free thought material. Would you be a victim?

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.

I am surprised that the NPS could accidently omit the recent Soda Butte bear attack - one dead, two serious - probably the most widely covered bear attack in many years.

(1 dead, 2 injured in bear attack at MT campground
The Associated Press - Matthew Brown - ‎Jul 28, 2010‎
COOKE CITY, Mont. — At least one bear rampaged through a heavily occupied campground Wednesday near Yellowstone National Park in the middle of the night, ...
Video: Bear Believed Responsible for Attack Is Caught The Associated Press
1 Dead, 2 Injured In Bear Attack At MT Campground CBS News
1 dead, 2 injured in bear attack at MT campground KTVQ Billings News
all 3,063 news articles »)