*(...Very interesting development here)

===U.S. Considers Easing Ban on Guns in National Parks=== By Just Pasternak February 23, 2008 WASHINGTON -

In a victory for gun-rights advocates, the federal government is preparing to relax a decades-old ban on bringing loaded firearms into national parks.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said Friday that his department would suggest new regulations by the end of April that could bring federal rules into line with state laws concerning guns in parks and public lands.

His announcement came in a letter to Sen. Michael D. Crapo (R-Idaho),one of 50 senators who have written to him about the issue.

Senators from both parties have backed a drive to repeal the ban, which has been in place in some parks for at least 100 years.

The proposed rule change would let visitors carry loaded weapons intonational parks in states with few gun restrictions, such as Montana.

©Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-guns23feb23,1,6269998,print.story