Gun-rights advocates are scrambling in and around Congress to get a gun ban in national parks revoked, before the newly elected Democratic majority takes power in Congress in January.

The bill was introduced by Sen. George Allen, R-Va., on Nov. 16. The measure would overturn the near total ban on personal firearms in national parks, allowing citizens to carry guns which are in compliance with federal law and state laws in which the parks are located.

The bill does not distinguish between National Park Service properties that are urban, such as Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia, and remote wilderness such as Denali National Park in Alaska.

The bill has been read twice and sent to the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee.

In Wyoming, guns - especially long guns or rifles - were first banned in Yellowstone National Park by the U.S. Army in the 1870s as a way to confront the wildlife poaching problem. In the 1930s, the Park Service banned weapons, traps and nets - again as a move to thwart poachers.

Currently, hunters are allowed to carry loaded guns into 61 national monuments and preserves where hunting is allowed. Everywhere else among the Park Service's 390 sites, guns can be transported through parks if they are unloaded, even disassembled, and stored so they're not immediately available, such as in the trunk of a car.

Indeed, guns are allowed in homes inside national parks, inside RVs and even hotel rooms in national parks, but not in cars, on trails or on people, according to National Park Service notices posted at most park entrances.

Allen's bill is called the National Park Second Amendment Restoration and Personal Protection Act of 2006.

"The National Rifle Association supports the bill," said NRA spokeswoman Ashley Varner. "We believe it is good practice to allow citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights for self protection."

Varner said that if she were walking along an isolated trail in a national park, she would want a firearm for personal protection.

Of 274 million visitors to national parks last year, there were 13 murders, 44 rapes, nine armed robberies, 60 aggravated assaults, 270 burglaries and 100 vehicle thefts, according to Park Service records. Closer to home, Yellowstone National Park law enforcement officers issued 4,000 tickets last year, of which 32 involved firearms in some manner.

National Park Service spokesman David Barna said national parks are some of the safest environments in the country, but would not comment on Allen's bill. In defense of the current prohibition on firearms, Barna noted that there are no discernible facts or statistics that demonstrate the need for visitors to carry concealed firearms.

Barna also noted that background and training requirements for concealed firearms possession vary significantly from state to state. Trying to achieve uniformity of concealed weapons issuance throughout all 390 Park Service jurisdictions would be nearly impossible and unenforceable, he said.

"I think it is a hare-brained idea," said Bill Wade, head of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees and former superintendent of the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. "It would result in increased risks to both visitors and wildlife, and has been introduced by Sen. Allen solely to ingratiate himself with the gun lobby."

Federal Election Commission records indicate that the NRA spent $85,357 promoting Allen's candidacy this year.

Despite the fact that Allen narrowly lost to Democratic challenger Jim Webb on Nov. 7, there's some solace for the NRA and other gun organizations. In a widely circulated letter to Virginia sportsmen a week before the election, Webb said he got an "A" on his NRA candidate survey and pledged to introduce his own bill to allow personal firearms in national parks - just as they are allowed in national forests and state parks in Virginia.

On the line

Rick Obernesser, chief ranger at Yellowstone National Park, said any ranger or law enforcement officer called in about a fight or domestic dispute has to wonder about the possible presence of a weapon in what can be volatile situations.

Brian Smith, chief agent in charge of the Park Service's Intermountain Region, said the weapons ban regulation gives his agents from Montana to Texas "a good tool" for sorting out criminals from law-abiding citizens.

"It is especially useful on boundary patrols," said Smith, because a loaded rifle can indicate a potential poacher.

Agents and rangers consider numerous factors and can simply wave someone on who has made an honest mistake, he said. The numbers of arrests and tickets at Yellowstone don't address every case where a visitor has a firearm.

As for needing a firearm for protection on a remote trail, Smith and Obernesser agreed that is an extremely rare situation in Yellowstone.

Smith did say that the most volatile situations in national parks can occur at places such as Nevada's Lake Mead, where boats, alcohol and firearms create a dangerous mix. That just isn't something commonly encountered in Yellowstone or Grand Teton, he said.

In Congress

Sens. Craig Thomas and Mike Enzi and Rep. Barbara Cubin all said they hadn't read Allen's bill and therefore couldn't comment on it.

All three noted that with only a few days left in the 109th Congress and no similar legislation having been introduced in the House, it seems highly unlikely that Allen's bill will even come up before adjournment.

Brodie Farquhar is a freelance writer based in Casper. He can be reached via e-mail at brodiefarquhar@hotmail.com.