- Jul 21, 2010
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3-Year-Old Shot Dead In Yellowstone After Congress Permits Guns In Parks
For the first time since 1978, someone has died of a gunshot wound in Yellowstone National Park. And for the first time since 1938, the victim was a child, a 3-year-old Idaho girl who shot herself with her fathers handgun this weekend, only three years after Congress legalized guns in national parks.
Though firing a gun is illegal in Yellowstone, firearms have been allowed in all national parks since a 2010 Republican amendment on an unrelated credit card bill passed Congress. The amount of violence in national parks is actually quite low, given the 3 million visitors annually, but the sponsor, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), has skewed that data to falsely claim his amendment led to less crime. The dangers of keeping firearms around children, however, are far more well documented.
For the first time since 1978, someone has died of a gunshot wound in Yellowstone National Park. And for the first time since 1938, the victim was a child, a 3-year-old Idaho girl who shot herself with her fathers handgun this weekend, only three years after Congress legalized guns in national parks.
Though firing a gun is illegal in Yellowstone, firearms have been allowed in all national parks since a 2010 Republican amendment on an unrelated credit card bill passed Congress. The amount of violence in national parks is actually quite low, given the 3 million visitors annually, but the sponsor, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), has skewed that data to falsely claim his amendment led to less crime. The dangers of keeping firearms around children, however, are far more well documented.