arkansas act 746

[airman]

Does anyone know anything about this bill that was signed into law and is supposed to go into effect on july 1? According to what I have been able to research and find out about this it will make Arkansas the fifth state to give it's citizens the right to carry a firearm lawfully under the second amendment without the requirement of having to get a ccl permit. Anyone with knowledge or info on this please speak up.

[OzarkRecluse]

The people who are saying that this is a legal precedent for carrying without a CHCL have an agenda that is not in your best interest. I would suggest not paying attention to them. You could find yourself in trouble with Johnny Law very quickly.

The law that was passed had absolutely nothing to do with what some idiots are trying to make it say. It sounds like the same kind of crap that the people who claimed you didn't have to pay taxes came up with.

[airman]

So are you saying that Arizona and Vermont do not have constitutional carry or that the people of Arkansas are not as intelligent to reword existing laws to in effect give us the right to carry a gun for self protection without having to get the governments blessing? The majority of what I have read about this bill is that everyone is focusing on the fact and debate as to whether this bill gives you the right to open carry. I personally could care less about open carry and feel that and understand that this could give someone with no knowledge of guns an uneasy feeling to see someone walk into walmart with a hogleg strapped on. However I think if the new wording does give a person the right to carry with no permit and has no specific wording to prohibit open carry then either way should be acceptable. Otherwise we are basically reverting back to the same mentality the military had for so long concerning gays and lesbians of don't ask don't tell. These are my opinions as a law abiding citizen from Arkansas who believes in the second amendment and I hope this bill has been passed into law if for no other reason than to keep me from having to put my name on a government list of pro-gunners for them to target if they ever are able to change the constitution.

[Hersh]

My understanding of the act is that it allows carry without a permit when one is "on a journey" and "journey" is defined as travel beyond ones county of residence.

I don't believe it to be a substitute for the Arkansas concealed carry permit.

[airman]

It also changes the wording of existing law to not be able to use just the possession of a gun for lawful use such as self defense as reason for prosecution.

[CornCod]

Actually, its a good law. Unfortunately, the State Police and a lot of the Prosecutors here in Arkansas are anti-gun and some poor fellow is going to have to be arrested for carrying without a carry permit on a journey and there is going to have to be a test case. We will win this case in court, but it is going to take a lot of time, money and effort.

[platoonDaddy]

Well they will have their showdown this weekend:

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.

Arkansas Carry, a gun rights group, on Saturday plans to hold an invitation-only "open carry" march in Fort Smith to highlight the disputed law, which took effect Aug. 16. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel last month said the new law makes technical corrections regarding the possession of a handgun but didn't remove the restrictions on carrying weapons openly.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/23/arkansas-gun-rights-group-plans-open-carry-march-to-highlight-new-law/