I'm quite pleased by the new policies. I happen to have a CHL, and I do carry regularly.

I've been an outdoorswoman my entire life, and have had a bad encounter while fishing on one of our local rivers. I've also had bad encounters in so-called "good" neighborhoods.

While I doubt I'd carry a firearm on, say, the PCT, I appreciate the option on other trails. Here in Oregon (as in many other states) there are enough backwoods illegal pot gardens supervised by armed Mexi gangs (really! Not making this up!) that it would make me feel a bit better about my safety and that of my backpacking party.

Enough have already posted about the law-abiding nature and overall good track record of CHL holders, so I'll leave that alone...except to add that it's an extremely low percentage of CHL holders who have used deadly force to protect property, as opposed to life--though some would argue that the theft of a car or a burgled house is akin to stealing all the hours one had to work to pay for those things.

After my fishing experience, one friend told me I had no business hiking or fishing alone. This really bothered me, as I'm sure it would bother many of you here who like to solo. I like having the option for concealed carry.

By the way--concealed is preferable to open carry, at least in my case, because a) it's nobody's business whether or not I have a gun, unless that nobody is planning something nefarious against me, and b) because of the misinformation about firearms and responsible firearm ownership, people who carry openly are viewed in an unwelcome manner.

I strongly believe, mexi-mafia or no, that the farther down the trail one goes, the less likely one needs a handgun. But since the topic here is National Parks, I should mention that I happened to be in Yosemite with a female photography buddy the same winter weekend Joie Armstrong was violently and randomly murdered, about 10 years ago. Our next stop on our trip took us within 1/2 mile of the location where two of the women he'd previously murdered were burned in their car.

Knowing now what I didn't know then, I'm glad my friend broke the law and brought along her concealed handgun (for which she was licensed in her home state).