Anonymous -

I think much of the debate on this issue - and there's been plenty - is not based on "a problem with the 2nd amendment," but rather in how it is interpreted. It's pretty clear that a vast gulf exists between the ends of the spectrum on that matter, and it certainly won't be resolved here :-)

"I’m afraid that there are too many ignorant people out there in the parks that are unaware that a person licensed to carry a concealed firearm, is not only protecting themselves and their families but everyone around them!" Tom J.

You seem to see this issue and yourself in excessively heroic terms. It is one thing for you to carry a concealed weapon for self protection, but it is quite another to see yourself as the protector of "everyone around them" even if you have had law enforcement experience. If you indeed have this perspective then you are probably the last person who should be armed. It implies that you are looking for trouble and anxious for an excuse to use your weapon. Whether or not you are willing to admit it, that makes you a danger - to everyone. For what it is worth, I also had a law enforcement commission.

"people with guns kill more people than people without guns" is just plain false, at least in the US and Canada.

people with cars kill orders of magnitude more than people with guns

maybe in a country where people have guns and not cars, that might be true ... if you can name one ... but the cost of bullets in such economies generally means enemies are killed by other means, like necklacing

might I add that cars are known to have significant environmental impact. They are banned from the best parts of the Okefenokee, and should be. I dare say that boat motors have a greater environmental impact there than guns have or would.

Concealed weapons arent necessarily for bears...so stop being ignorant. Aside from that MY 10mm Will take care of a bear, but I carry for the TWO legged predators especially in the wildlife refuge I visit that is carpeted with illegals, and smugglers. AGAIN...stop being ignorant.

If i understand your reasoning correctly it is that since out of three trips you have not needed a gun, therefore you will never need one. I went hiking in New Mexico and saw two bears in one day, and a third later on in the trip. This was during 7 days in the mountains more than 30 miles from any civilization. Im not sure how you feel a gun will only "piss the bear off" but your little can of pepper spray is going to do the trick. If you wore your seat belt to work three days in a row with no problem would you stop wearing it? Consider the fact that a person is far more likely to be injured by a bear than they are to be shot while attending church, but look what happened. If not for an old lady exercising her rights more people would have died that day. The fact is carrying a weapon is a RIGHT. People carry them and the hope to god they will never have to use them, but when the time comes, whether it is in defense from man or beast they are ready. When you come across a bear chewing someones leg off i hope you have the fortitude to run up there with your pepper spray and give that bear a good shot in the face.

I highly doubt it. Besides, if you mailed it you committed a felony, and should be tried. Even given the fact you just admitted it I would like to see you judged by a Jury. You would have to mail the weapon to a FFL maintain you innocence. So which is it, you lied, or did you commit a felony?
I suppose now your going to state you gave it to a LEO friend. That would also be against the law in California.... you lose.

Didn't Charles Manson and his merry band of murderers hang around at Death Valley (National Park)? Just sayin...