Felicia,

The new sign is posted above – and indicates that campfires are allowed from October 1st through April 30. The reason for the summer ban is for the protection of nesting Sea Turtles.

Hope this helps,

Carolyn are campfires allowed on the new sign?

Hi Carolyn. That would be great. I will send you an email to which you can reply with the image. Thanks!

“Well regulated” is supposed to mean “stocked” or well prepared?!?! In what universe? Regulate has always meant ‘to control’ as in “regulate the air flow’. By this reasoning, ‘regulating alcohol’ means your supposed to keep a well stocked liqueur cabinet. And of course there were town armories. In the revolutionary war, *every* town had an armory. Here is a quote from supreme court justice John Paul Stevens on the subject …

“For more than 200 years following the adoption of that amendment, federal judges uniformly understood that the right protected by that text was limited in two ways: First, it applied only to keeping and bearing arms for military purposes, and second, while it limited the power of the federal government, it did not impose any limit whatsoever on the power of states or local governments to regulate the ownership or use of firearms. Thus, in United States v. Miller, decided in 1939, the court unanimously held that Congress could prohibit the possession of a sawed-off shotgun because that sort of weapon had no reasonable relation to the preservation or efficiency of a “well regulated Militia.”
When I joined the court in 1975, that holding was generally understood as limiting the scope of the Second Amendment to uses of arms that were related to military activities. During the years when Warren Burger was chief justice, from 1969 to 1986, no judge or justice expressed any doubt about the limited coverage of the amendment, and I cannot recall any judge suggesting that the amendment might place any limit on state authority to do anything.”

-Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens

So yea – The notion that universal gun ownership is some canonical and inherent American right is a recent distortion of the framers’ original intent – and as it was understood and practiced for the first 200 years of our nation’s existence. This long standing policy was changed recently by activist conservative judges who don’t have the humility, wisdom and courage of our founding fathers.

That’s not what well regulated meant in the context of the 2nd. Think of it as meaning more like well stocked or well prepared. If the people did not personally own guns they could not form a very effective militia when called to duty. There was no town armory and this was long before the national guard was invented.

Great comment, Jim! People keep guns because they are afraid. But it’s a false sense of security. Guns make us less safe, not more.

Guns on shell key are a real danger. Here is what happens when everyone uses guns. Over 60 people shot in one city over the holiday weekend. You have to go to the third world to see similar shooting rates. It’s sickening … http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/07/chicago-shootings-july-4-weekend_n_5562445.html

“Don is absolutely correct in his understanding of 790.”

I am not disputing this fact.

“If you quake at the thought of armed people who are lawfully and responsibly carrying concealed, I am really curious about how you feel about the criminals and thugs that carry?”

I feel pretty much the same about them. They are an even greater threat. No big surprise there.

“Your fear of weapons does not trump my Constitutional right to self-protection”

It is by no means clear that the framers wanted everyone to have guns all the time. Hence the phrase “well regulated” militia. The constitution was written at a time when guns were kept in the locked town armory – not in people’s pockets. And your constitutional right to self protection does not trump my right to self protection either.

“How, exactly, would you intend to protect your family in the event that someone threatens them with bodily harm? ”

By being alert and smart enough to avoid dangerous situations – like a person carrying a gun on Shell Key, for example. Most certainly NOT by getting in to a gun fight with my family present. That would be insane! A crack addict could kill my whole family with a gun – even after I put several bullets in him. It’s just not worth getting in to gun fight to protect my wallet.

“But you have absolutely no right to impose your fears on anybody else.”

Nor do you. One man’s fear is another man’s courage. Advocating guns for protection is also the result of fear. And, advocating peaceful alternatives takes a great deal of courage.