Firearms Defense against Bears in National Parks is Legal

Image of grizzly bear  by Troy Nemitz, used with permission. 

In 2010, President Obama signed a credit card bill he desperately wanted. Inside the bill was an amendment removing the provision against the exercise of Second Amendment rights in national parks. A few people were offended. How dare the Constitution be allowed to be in effect in national parks! 

Some writers have claimed, while it is legal to carry guns in most national parks, it is illegal to fire guns in the park (such as Yellowstone) even in self defense. From yellowstonepark.com:

Yes, you can carry a gun in Yellowstone. But it's illegal to fire it - even in self defense. And once you exit Yellowstone, you could be in one of three states, so it's important to know the law.

This claim was recently repeated at cowboystatedaily, embellished somewhat:

Sorry, but if you’re attacked by a grizzly in Yellowstone, it is against the law for you to shoot it. Reaching for bear spray could be your best legal option as you can’t even point a firearm at wildlife there.

Both of these claims are incorrect. There is no prohibition on shooting guns in self defense in national parks. The key, of course, is the firearm has to have been shot in self defense. Because grizzly bears are a protected species both inside and outside national parks in the lower 48 states, the requirements for claiming self defense against a grizzly bear are the same inside of Yellowstone National park and outside the park in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). 

During extensive research into the use of firearms for defense against bears, this correspondent has found five cases where firearms were fired in national parks and self defense was claimed.  Two of the cases were in the Grand Teton National Park, which shares a common boundary with Yellowstone National park and is inside the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.  Two brothers were forced to kill a large grizzly bear when bear spray was not enough to stop the animal. The attack occurred on Thanksgiving day of 2012. Park officials and U.S. Fish and Wildlife officers investigated. The federal prosecutor declined to prosecute, after investigators concluded the trio acted in self defense. 

On August 15, 2015, a fisherman fired a warning shot to scare away a grizzly sow and cubs. He was issued a notice to appear in federal magistrate court. He had bear spray but said he could not have used it in the incident. This correspondent searched a year of public records and was unable to find any record of a conviction or fine being paid.

The only known attempted prosecution for an incident inside a park involved Brian D. Murphy, who shot a grizzly bear with a .357 revolver after bear spray did not stop the attack. Murphy was charged with discharging a firearm in Glacier Park, two months after the incident. When Murphy mounted a legal defense, the charges were dismissed.  Two weeks after the self defense grizzly bear shooting with Murphy, a hiker was issued a warning when he used a gunshot to summon aid. 

On May 28, 2010, a hiker killed a grizzly bear in self defense in Denali National Park in Alaska.  He was not charged with any offense.

On September 20, 2020, a hunter in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park & Preserve, a man used a pistol to drive off a bear which had killed his hunting partner. He was not charged.

Because grizzly bears can be legally hunted in Alaska, the laws are different. This correspondent searched the database he maintains of when pistols are fired in defense against bears. 44 cases were found to have occurred in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem from 2003 to present. Five of the most recent cases are still being investigated to determine if a handgun or long gun was used. None of the 44 cases appear to have been prosecuted. 

One person who killed a grizzly with a rifle in September of 2009, in the GYE was found guilty by a six person jury of taking a grizzly bear without a license. The jury rejected his plea of self defense. Judge Tim Day fined Stephen Westmoreland $500.

It is not illegal to fire a gun in Yellowstone in self defense. If you kill a grizzly bear while in fear of your life, and a jury convicts you of illegal taking of a grizzly bear without a license, the precedent is a $500 fine.

There are a few states which restrict the carry of firearms in parks. None of them appear to have grizzly bears.

©2023 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch