I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, they do a lot of work that's pretty much the same as what police do, and they can find themselves in dangerous situations. But those dangerous situations can create a bit of catch-22 scenario. Walking in on a group of partying drunks at midnigh alone can be dangerous, and then add firearms to the mix and things could get nasty. It would be pretty easy for a group of drunks to overpower the warden and seize the weapon. Or say a lone warden encounters a poacher in the back country. If both are armed, it could be a more volatile situation than if only one side is armed.
A friend of my used to be a warden, and we've discussed this. He leans towards arming wardens, but he has reservations about it and certainly understands why some wardens don't want to be armed.
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