New York Times tells those in national parks to find a ranger for protection

The New York Times berates Senator George Allen for putting up a bill that would allow concealed handgun permit holders to carry guns with them in Federal parks. Not surprisingly, the NY Times' solution is more money:

If Americans want to feel safer in their national parks, the proper solution is to increase park funding, which has decayed steadily since the Bush administration took office. To zealots who believe that the Second Amendment trumps all others, the parks are merely another badland, like schools and church parking lots, that could be cleaned up if the carrying of private weapons were allowed. . . .

So how many park rangers does it really take to protect people from wild animal attacks or people who threaten to harm them? If police, who are important in fighting crime, almost always arrive at the crime scene after the crime has occurred, what would park rangers do regarding a bear attack. Here are two very quick examples:

A northern Idaho baby sitter shot and killed a 422-pound black bear that broke into a backyard where three toddlers were playing. . . .

A Baker County grand jury says an Idaho man acted in self-defense when he shot a man who was headed straight for him in an all-terrain vehicle. Fifty-two-year-old Marvin Sauer of Boise shot Vancouver, Washington resident Everett Durst, in the leg following a Labor Day dispute near Phillips Reservoir. . . .