[Walt45]

Arkansas gun rights group plans 'open carry' march to highlight new law.


LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas – A dozen gun rights supporters plan to march in a western Arkansas city this weekend with their firearms on display to highlight a law that they argue allows the open carry of handguns, despite an attorney general's opinion saying otherwise.

"Basically we're going to do the walk because it's legal and we're trying to show that act 746 does authorize open carry contrary to what the attorney general said," Steve Jones, the group's chairman, said Thursday.

Jones said the group coordinated the event with police and prosecutors, though city officials say they're staying out of the debate over McDaniel's opinion. In an email to officers, Fort Smith Police Chief Kevin Lindsey wrote that the city prosecutor advised him there wouldn't be a violation of the law unless "an officer could prove that there was an unlawful attempt to employ a handgun, knife, or club as a weapon against a person."

Arkansas law currently states that being on a journey is a defense to prosecution for illegally carrying a weapon, but doesn't define what constitutes a journey. The new law defines a journey as traveling "beyond the county in which the person lives."

Article says the march is by invitation only.

So, are any of our Arkansas brothers attending this event?

 

[M1894]

Nope! I'll be working this weekend as usual, but I do support the marchers even tho I usually carry concealed. Did open carry here for many years tho but I had a shield to back me up back then.


Lee

 

[Easternhunter]

I've had a carry permit since the 60's.
I have no problem with guys who want open carry.
But what's the point? To impress other folks??
To establish the 2nd Amendment?
Heck, that was done almost 300 years ago.
To flaunt our constitutional rights?
That's counter productive.
We as gun owners need to impress the fact on the non gun owning community that we are not wild eyed revolutionists.
Seriously, that's what they think.
Comments?
Might invite some conversation.

 

[Walt45]

Agreed. Not much point in a gun on the hip (visible anyway). However, on August the 24th anti-gun protesters will be heading to Starbucks to protest the coffee shop's stance on guns (which are allowed in the store). I might have to drop $5 for a coffee just to show my support .

 

[JigMaster]

Agreed. Not much point in a gun on the hip (visible anyway). However, on August the 24th anti-gun protesters will be heading to Starbucks to protest the coffee shop's stance on guns (which are allowed in the store). I might have to drop $5 for a coffee just to show my support .

Same here. We have two stores so my family and I will be having coffee twice tomorrow.

 

[PatrickB]

But what's the point? To impress other folks??
To establish the 2nd Amendment?
Heck, that was done almost 300 years ago.
To flaunt our constitutional rights?
That's counter productive.
We as gun owners need to impress the fact on the non gun owning community that we are not wild eyed revolutionists.
Seriously, that's what they think.
Comments?
Might invite some conversation.

How about to show others that people with guns aren't scary people.

And also because a person can. Time to quit hiding in the shadows, don't you think?

 

[Easternhunter]

Patrick,
A guy carrying a handgun into a McDonalds is gonna scare the non-gunowning public.
They're deluged with news stories about nutcases randomly killing people.
Just because I can just doesn't justify the situation.
We're engaged in a public opinion war. The sooner we realize that, the better off we'll be.
We can't change the opinion of some folks by scaring them.
You got it right when you said that we have to show folks that gun owners aren't scary people, but open carry in a Publix market won't do that.

 

[Webley]

Walt45,

I wonder why the Open Carry march is "by invitation only." If it is a Right, how can it be limited by an interest group?

I have to agree with Easternhunter; "In your face" open carry at Walmart or McDonalds will alarm the non-gun-owning, but voting public. As a retired federal agent, I fully support Open Carry, but with proper restraints. I Open Carry while fishing, training my dogs, fixing fence on the farm and driving my tractors. I think open carry in town is just looking for trouble from mental patients, criminals and bad guys.

When a person practicing open carry is in a checkout line at a store, a criminal behind that person can too easily slug the man/woman as they use their swipe card or write a check. Presto! The bad guy is now armed and the open carry person is a victim. If an open carry person strolls into a bank or convenience store where two or three bad guys are about to rob the place, let us figure WHO will be the first person shot!

Open Carry is legal. Gun owners are in a voting minority in this country and they need to realize no right is absolute. We need to carry openly without being obnoxious about it.

Webley

 

[Easternhunter]

Webly,
This is a can of worms.
Being entitled to carry openly doesn't mean that you should go into an establishment armed to the teeth for all to see.
That scares the heck out of the general public, even though it's your legal right.
So why do it? I don't know.
Because you can? That just doesn't wash.
We don't need to carry openly, I carry concealed all the time with my weapon hidden by a shirt or a jacket.
The handgun is accessible to me, but unseen by anyone around me.
Unfortunately, open carry to some folks becomes an ego trip. "Because I Can"
We're in a battle, we need to be proactive, not reactive.

 

[jawi_89]

Agreed Eastern Hunter. Gun owners have a bad enough rap anymore. I was at a local Scheels sporting goods this past weekend, there were 2 men carrying open there. A place like that it isnt out of place but the store is hooked onto the largest mall around. If they would of walked into the mall area Im thinking it wouldve caused a commotion from somebody with cops being called or at least mall security. I see nothing wrong with open carry in the rural areas but we need to think about the effect it has on the urban area. I think concealed is the way to go. Wisconsin finally got the concealed and i was very soon to get mine after it went into effect. I couldve carried open before, but I didnt feel like talking to the cops everytime I walked out of the house. Just my thoughts.

 

[MikeG]

The flip side is, the more people carrying openly, the more people can get used to it. Just because a shrill minority of anti-gun zealots gets up in arms on the issue, we shouldn't knuckle under. That's how we've lost most of our rights along the way - think about it! If the non-gun owners aren't worried about cops with sidearms, they shouldn't be worried about the rest of us and there's no better way to demonstrate that with lawful open carry.

Not to besmirch the police.... but as a sample of the general population, it should not be surprising that they commit about the same number of crimes, per capita, as the rest of the population. Somehow, those fearful of gun ownership tend to overlook that.

The best part about lawful open carry, in my opinion, is not worrying if the (lawfully carried) concealed gun gets uncovered by accident. That can be an instant crime in some jurisdictions.

I prefer to carry concealed but would welcome the opportunity to have the option of open carry where I live.

 

[PatrickB]

Patrick,
A guy carrying a handgun into a McDonalds is gonna scare the non-gunowning public.
They're deluged with news stories about nutcases randomly killing people.
Just because I can just doesn't justify the situation.
We're engaged in a public opinion war. The sooner we realize that, the better off we'll be.
We can't change the opinion of some folks by scaring them.
You got it right when you said that we have to show folks that gun owners aren't scary people, but open carry in a Publix market won't do that.

Ok, so how should it be done?

 

[oldbrass33]

How do you do that?? Youth days at your gun club, include fishing and shooting for the kids, Ladies day at the club (with women instructors) a little self defense demo, some 22 pistol shooting, an explanation of all the shooting sports, treat them to some goodies and lemonade. Show them there is a real fun side to guns and shooting.
Carry open?? I was in the general store the other day(carrying concealed) when a young man walked in with his girlfriend to buy soda and snacks. He was carrying open, he was obviously not a cop, and the older woman tending the counter was having a real tough time with him being armed. He got his "rights" dander up with her. So he managed to alarm at least one citizen, maybe he made an active anti gun voter out of her. Any need to carry open, not that I could see.
In Texas(as I understand it) it is a misdemeanor to carry open or not fully concealed if you have a permit and are carrying.
Why would we want to alarm neutral voters with open carry?? We'd be better off recruiting them to information and shooting events at the gun club.
IMHO

 

[Walt45]

Definitely a difficult subject. Nervous people are that way (in regards to guns) because there is no positive image out there for them to see. Is that positive image myself with a gun on the hip? Maybe. However there is a problem with being afraid to practice your rights/beliefs out of fear of persecution. That is where we are as a nation in various ways. Is it our responsibility as lawful gun owners to show others there is nothing to be afraid of? Most definitely, unquestionably, the answer is yes.

With that said, me walking into KFC with a 44 mag on my side will not undo the damage done by years of fear-mongering thanks to the news and other nonsense. Gentlemen, there is a lot of work to be done.

 

[baddad457]

The flip side is, the more people carrying openly, the more people can get used to it. Just because a shrill minority of anti-gun zealots gets up in arms on the issue, we shouldn't knuckle under. That's how we've lost most of our rights along the way - think about it! If the non-gun owners aren't worried about cops with sidearms, they shouldn't be worried about the rest of us and there's no better way to demonstrate that with lawful open carry.

Not to besmirch the police.... but as a sample of the general population, it should not be surprising that they commit about the same number of crimes, per capita, as the rest of the population. Somehow, those fearful of gun ownership tend to overlook that.

The best part about lawful open carry, in my opinion, is not worrying if the (lawfully carried) concealed gun gets uncovered by accident. That can be an instant crime in some jurisdictions.

I prefer to carry concealed but would welcome the opportunity to have the option of open carry where I live.

Exactly. Keeping quiet about our rights only serves to magnify the opposition's position. They're winning all the battles because they're NOT quiet. Our side has been quiet for too long now.

 

[Easternhunter]

The flip side is, the more people carrying openly, the more people can get used to it. Just because a shrill minority of anti-gun zealots gets up in arms on the issue, we shouldn't knuckle under. That's how we've lost most of our rights along the way - think about it! If the non-gun owners aren't worried about cops with sidearms, they shouldn't be worried about the rest of us and there's no better way to demonstrate that with lawful open carry.

Not to besmirch the police.... but as a sample of the general population, it should not be surprising that they commit about the same number of crimes, per capita, as the rest of the population. Somehow, those fearful of gun ownership tend to overlook that.

The best part about lawful open carry, in my opinion, is not worrying if the (lawfully carried) concealed gun gets uncovered by accident. That can be an instant crime in some jurisdictions.

I prefer to carry concealed but would welcome the opportunity to have the option of open carry where I live.

Mike,
It would take a stretch if I accidentally exposed my weapon under my shirt or jacket and be prosecuted.
I'm not saying that we should "knuckle under".
But what are we knuckling under to?
The astonishment of a lady with her kids waiting in a check out line?
That does nothing to further our beliefs.
As far as our rights, I've been around for 70 odd years and I see no erosion of our 2nd Amendment rights.
Those rights may have been infringed on when the Feds invoked the the act that forbid automatic weapons.
The current uproar involves military type weapons.
We have to be honest about that.
One side says that they should have access to the above. These are the folks who are obsessed with a government takeover.
The other side represents hunters and target shooters.
Mike, I just don't know, honestly.
We need to come together.

 

[baddad457]

Mike,

I'm not saying that we should "knuckle under". REALLY ? THEN WAHT ARE YOU SAYING ?
But what are we knuckling under to?
As far as our rights, I've been around for 70 odd years and I see no erosion of our 2nd Amendment rights. gAWD, YOU WOULD HAVEW TO BE LIVING UNDER A ROCK TO NOT SEE WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO OUR RIGHTS IN THE PAST 10 YEARS
Those rights may have been infringed on when the Feds invoked the the act that forbid automatic weapons.
The current uproar involves military type weapons.
We have to be honest about that.
One side says that they should have access to the above. These are the folks who are obsessed with a government takeover.
The other side represents hunters and target shooters.
Mike, I just don't know, honestly.
We need to come together.

The Second Amendment was NEVER about hunting and sport shooting. It was put into the Connstitution for one thing and one thing only. It's there to guarantee us ALL of our rights against a tyrannical government. It's not about a goverment takeover, it's just the opposite. It's to prevent the takeover of the government over all the population. We're suposed to have a government "of the people, by the people for the people" Not a government that expects the population to blindly follow whatever it is the government desires. It's obvious that you truly do not know.

 

[Easternhunter]

Man, I really didn't want to do this with you, but you leave me no alternative.
First, what rights in your eyes have been infringed upon in the last ten years.
Your move.
No histrionics, facts.
Mike, I'm sorry about this.

 

[shane256]

Man, I really didn't want to do this with you, but you leave me no alternative.
First, what rights in your eyes have been infringed upon in the last ten years.
Your move.
No histrionics, facts.
Mike, I'm sorry about this.

I could give you a list of attempts to infringe upon the rights of the people but many of those examples wouldn't be well received on this board. I would discuss over PM if you'd like.

 

[Walt45]

We need to come together.

Please, please, please don't take this the wrong way. What guns are you willing to give up in order to make others feel better? Why should gun owners be the ones to bend? Please, please, please for the love of all that is good and holy don't take that as attitude.