Local officials say a new federal law that allows people to bring firearms into national parks and onto federal land isn’t expected to have a big effect in the Texas Panhandle.

But gun rights advocates said the new rules will offer visitors an extra measure of personal safety.

The federal law, which went into effect Feb. 22, allows those legally permitted to carry concealed firearms to bring them into national parks. Local parks affected by the change include: Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, Rosita Flats, Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge and some local Bureau of Land Management property.

“It doesn’t really change how we do business because we allow hunting here,” said Paul Jones, chief ranger at Lake Meredith.

Jones said the only effect is to carrying concealed handguns inside park limits, which had previously been prohibited.

“If you’ve got a gun and it’s legal to carry it in Amarillo, Texas, it’s probably legal to carry it in the park,” he said.

Those who want to carry handguns must have a concealed handgun permit.

“If you don’t have a license and you put a handgun on your person, you’ve committed a violation of Texas state law,” Jones said. “If they have (a gun) and they don’t have their license, they’re going to jail.”

Jones said he’s not concerned about any problems because concealed carry permit-holders are “usually good, law-abiding citizens” and have been screened by the state.

Despite the new rules, some weapons restrictions still apply. Possession is prohibited in designated federal buildings like visitor’s centers or offices.

“If you have a concealed handgun and you carry it into the headquarter’s building … you’d be arrested for a felony,” Jones said. “(Signs prohibiting possession) are posted per law.”

A spokesman with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department, which runs Buffalo Lake, echoed Jones and said the refuge doesn’t expect any problems with the new regulations.

Alice Tripp, a legislative director for the Texas State Rifle Association, the National Rifle Association’s state affiliate, described the legislation as “a big deal.”

She said the legislation now makes it legal to carry concealed handguns on both state and federal parklands. The new law, she said, is about personal safety.

“It allows travelers, like snow birds, to have that safety option,” she said.

Tripp said many national parks, like Big Bend and lands along the Texas/Mexico border, have a lot of isolated camping space, and carrying a firearm is just an added layer of protection.

“It nice to have that personal safety,” Tripp said. “You could travel all over the country, but you couldn’t legally have it in our vehicle unless it was disassembled and effectively rendered useless.”