Police arresting for open carry despite it being legalized in 2013

Via Johannes Paulsen at thetruthaboutguns.com

On August 22, a man named Richard Chambless was arrested in Bald Knob, Arkansas, a hamlet north east of Little Rock, thrown in the klink, and on the 26th, was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay a fine of $2,160.00. Why? For the crime of openly carrying a handgun into a local McDonald’s restaurant, where he stopped to get a drink.  According to Arkansas Code § 5-73-120 . . .

a person “commits the offense of carrying a weapon if he or she possesses a handgun, knife, or club on or about his or her person….” Persons who have an Arkansas Concealed Handgun Carry License (or have a license issued by another state,) can carry a concealed firearm, but the Natural State did not license the ordinary citizenry to openly carry a firearm.

So apparently this law would apply to Chambless if it were before 2013. However, law 746 was passed to clarify gun laws in Arkansas, and Chambless is ‘sticking to his guns’ (lol) when in trial by saying he is within the new law. Arkansas Attorney-General Leslie Rutledge was asked to give an opinion and what she says backs up Chambless.

The law is known to cause confusion with law enforcement and Arkansas citizens, and the Attorney General was quick to issue her statement to clear up confusion. “because of the changes wrought by Act 746, a person may now openly carry a firearm while in public, or while in a vehicle, without violating Arkansas firearms law, provided she does not have the intent to “unlawfully employ the handgun as a weapon.”

So basically the new law, with a lot of law terms and jargon, turned Arkansas into a imperfect constitutional carry state which allows unlicensed open carry and continued licensed carry. However the Attorney General was quick to say that she does not encourage open carry as the conditions are touchy and may easily get you in trouble with law enforcement.

How do police determine if someone open carrying has the “intent to unlawfully employ the handgun as a weapon?” According to the law, by the demeanor of the suspect, the gait and manner of the suspect, any information received from third persons, and the suspect’s proximity to known criminal conduct. So if you open carry you should almost be prepared for attention from citizens and possible detainment by police as in Richard Chambless’ situation.

So this law should be a win for Arkansas but also is just another gun law. It allows for open carry, it clearly states you can open carry as long as you don’t have intent to harm someone with your firearm. This is very much a gun control law: it makes it extremely iffy for police officers, so this law might as well have fell through as if it didn’t even happen like with Chambless.

Do you think criminals give a hoot about this law or even know about it? Would a criminal stop and go, “Oh no, I shouldn’t open carry because i’m planning on victimizing others with this gun as stated in the Act 746…” What a joke, really what the laws in Arkansas are doing are continuing to infringe on our Second Amendment. Criminals are going to do what they want regardless of the law, that is the definition of a criminal.

The irony is that police and lawmakers are more intent on catching law abiding citizens with guns than criminals with guns.

Richard Chambless was abiding by the law, and he knew there might be possible consequences for practicing his right to bear arms. We as citizens need to refuse to stand by and watch things like this happen. Peaceful protests, initiatives, letters to the attorney general or governor, knowing our rights… There are all kinds of things we can do other than sit by and watch as our rights are taken away. It was a small victory and loss when 746 was passed because it broke old restrictions and opened up lawful open carry but also prohibited it because Arkansas police and state officials are so uninformed.

Take Bald Knob Chief of Police for example, he needs to get educated on this law, “It’s hard for me to understand that the law was intentionally made for anyone to tote a gun around,” Balentine said. “What would the purpose of having a [conceal and carry] permit, what would be the purpose of background checks?… Open carry would mean anyone could tote a gun.”

Obviously not, but either way more gun laws aren’t targeting those that need targeting. The criminals: who in a recent poll in Chicago said they get their guns illegally and on the street.  Chicago has some of the highest gun control and also one of the highest crime rates. I think we can agree most criminals get their guns illegally. Are more laws going to stop that?