Will a handgun make you feel safer in a national park?

National Parks are reserves that display America's natural beauty to the public. Some people find them places of solitude, where they can go sightseeing, vacation, and camp out in the wild. A visit to a national park is considerably cheaper than the conventional family-of-four vacation. But while protecting your wallet, you might also want to protect yourself.

Being alone or even with a small group out in the wild can be frightening. Considering the many violent events that have and can occur in national parks, and also to honor current rights according to visitors' home state, Congress recently lifted a ban on loaded guns in national parks which lasted for two decades. This new law took effect Feb. 22.

Current state laws will determine how the new regulation will be implemented in each park. Some states may allow handguns only in certain areas of the park. Other states that overlap with a national park such as Wyoming and Idaho will have to designate specific areas limited to the state border line that allow handguns. This will be a tricky process to work out, and will require interstate cooperation.