The proposed change allowing concealed carry with a permit but continuing to prohibit open carry would seem to represent progress, but that is an illusion. Its logical implication would be that free citizens must have permission from the government before they may exercise the right to self defense, and that is a morally repugnant suggestion. People should not need permission to exercise a basic human right.

The existing regulation is plainly immoral. It is gravely unjust to demand that free citizens must, in effect, waive the right to self defense before they may make use of a public recreational facility, but that is an inescapable implication of the Department's regulation forbidding all firearms. The injustice inherent in the currect regulation will not be fully corrected until the Department's prohibition against the carry of handguns is removed altogether.

Furthermore, Virginia law does not authorize the Department of Conservation and Recreation to regulate or restrict the carrying of handguns in state parks, whether openly or concealed. In fact, the law prohibits any state agency from acting beyond its statutorily-defined powers. The Department's regulations should be amended to conform to state law, that is, so as not to create any additional impediment to nor impose any onus on the otherwise lawful carry of handguns, both open and concealed.