As a long-time Virginia resident (1951-1991), and a current Concealed Carry licensee, I became aware of this proposed amendment to the VA Dept. of Forestry regulations. Having read perhaps dozens of articles regarding deaths in the forests and feeling that the Peace Officers burdened with the enforcement of the existing laws have enough on their plates I have to support this legislation. There was a time in the '50s when I always carried a .22 rifle into the woods. In the '60s, I likewise carried a pocket pistol both in the country and when I crossed the Key Bridge as well. DC wasn't a friendly place to be caught alone with an empty gas tank, or flat tire. In the '70s and '80s I did a lot of traveling to bluegrass festivals in VA, WVA and NC, always armed to protect my wife and friends in the unfamiliar settings. In the '90s I spent more time traveling long distance in my work and the need for being armed never occured to me. After moving to CA, the most narrow-minded state in the Union, with the possible exception of IL, I found a raft of laws and more every year, if not monthly. I long for the woods of VA that I knew and loved, but would not walk the forests unarmed, not only for the four-legged animals, but the two-legged as well.

Although I can't vote in VA, I can still hang on to the Rights I had as a youth and respectfully request your support for the right for concealed carry licensees to be as safe in the VA State Forests as they are at Safeway. Does that sound as ludicrous to you as it does to me? A man or woman with a CCW has already been vetted by the state and the FBI. I think the Forest Service can trust them to use extremely good judgement in the wild as they do in the suburbs.