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New regulations allowing people with concealed weapon permits to carry weapons in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will go into effect in January 2009.

The U.S. Department of Interior published new regulations Dec. 5 that govern the carrying of concealed weapons in areas administered by the National Park Service and on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuges. In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, individuals who hold valid permits to carry a concealed weapon issued by the states of Tennessee or North Carolina, or by states which have reciprocal weapons carrying agreements with Tennessee or North Carolina, may also carry those weapons within the Park.

Under regulations now in effect, weapons can only be transported into the Park in motor vehicles when they are rendered temporarily inoperable or are packed, cased or stored in a manner that will prevent their ready use.

"As with the current regulation, Park rangers will be strictly enforcing the new regulation," said Kevin Fitzgerald, deputy superintendent at the Park.

According to the Department of Interior, 48 states currently allow citizens to carry concealed firearms. Existing federal regulations governing firearms in national parks were developed before most of the state laws were passed.

In December 2007, 47 U.S. senators asked the Secretary of the Interior to remove the prohibition. The senators observed that the "regulations infringe on the rights of law-abiding gun owners" and that the "inconsistencies in regulations are confusing, cumbersome and unnecessary."

In February 2008, four more senators joined in support of the effort.

The Interior Department said it gathered about 125,000 comments on the proposed change with the majority favoring a rule that would align federal policy with the adjacent state law.

Further information on the new regulations and the rationale for their issuance can be found on the Web at www.doi.gov/issues/Final%20Rule.pdf.