Arkansas Open Carry

[kwells2006]

http://www.petitiononline.com/ARPFOCOH/petition.html

To:  Arkansas Legislature and Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe

This petition seeks the restoration of open carry rights in Arkansas.

We hold that any citizen who may lawfully own a handgun should be restored their right to carry that holstered handgun openly in public, throughout the State of Arkansas, except for those few unique places where the Legislature has decided to ban gun carry generally.

The following facts are not in dispute:

1. Arkansas is one of only 6 states banning open carry. Most states do not even require a license to open carry.

2. Self-defense is a basic human right and the handgun is “the quintessential
self-defense weapon.” District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. ___, ___, slip op. at 57 (2008).

3. The Constitution of the United States, and presumably that of Arkansas, guarantees the right of individuals to “carry” arms, Id. at 10, but not to carry “concealed” arms. Id. at 54. Therefore, it does not take a law degree to figure out that only open carry is constitutionally protected.

4. Criminals are not deterred by rules, regulations, or statutes forbidding the possession of weapons. A man bent on mass murder will not be stopped by a law forbidding him to have a gun, but a law abiding citizen will be deterred from carrying a gun which might save lives.

5. It is well known that the requirement to conceal a normal sized handgun can be difficult, especially in Arkansas with our extreme heat and humidity, since a person will usually have to wear a jacket to properly conceal a handgun and to avoid "printing.”

6. Under some circumstances, the requirement to conceal a handgun can make it difficult to draw the weapon should the life of the carrier or the life of someone else be in danger.

7. Open carry has and will deter crime, as well as providing a valuable option even for citizens who prefer to normally carry concealed.

8. A recent FBI study concludes that criminals do not open carry handguns and “eschew holsters” because they do not want to draw attention to themselves. Anthony Pinizzotto, et al., Violent Encounters: A Study of Felonious Assaults on Our Nation's Law Enforcement Officers, FBI (2006) (finding that violent criminals carefully "conceal" their guns and "eschew holsters"), summary available at http://www.forcesciencenews.com/home/detail.html?serial=62.

For the foregoing reasons, we residents of the State of Arkansas affirm and assert that all citizens who may lawfully own a handgun be allowed to carry that holstered handgun openly in public throughout the State of Arkansas except for those specific places where the Legislature has decided to ban gun carry generally.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

[Brett]

NC is an open carry state and I agree with the concept that anyone legally eligible to own a firearm should have the right to carry one openly if he or she chooses to do so.

That said, I am a CCW holder and prefer to carry concealed in public for two reasons.

1) Some people are just too squeamish around guns and I don't care for the attention it may bring to me. I have a friend in the local Sheriffs department who told me about a guy who likes to carry a SAA in a hip holster every where he goes.  My friend said they would get a phone call about once a week from some citizen reporting "a man with a gun walking around Food Lion or at the gas station, etc.  They used to send someone out to check on it till they wised up and started asking the callers; "What is he doing?", " Is he waving the gun around?",  "Making threats?"  Of course they always got the same answer "Ah, he's shopping for groceries." or "He's pumping gas."   Mothers with children were the worst, they could not believe that this guy wasn't doing something illegal even with the Sheriff's assurance that it was okay.   

2) It may say to someone intent on committing a crime "I'm armed, shoot me first".  Picture this scenario: Your in line at the check out of a convenience store one evening when suddenly a BG steps threw the front door, shotgun in hand, intent on robbing the place and the very first thing he sees is the the gun on your hip.  Remember he's already got the shotgun out and pointed in your general direction.  Think you'ld have a chance to draw your gun and aim before he unloads on you?   

[magooch]

Geeze, I guess I'm more of a criminal, because I "eschew" holsters and carry concealed.  I do have a permit though, so I guess that makes me a semi-crook.

I wonder how many laws I broke yesterday when I slipped a little 380 into my backpack when I went kayaking on a lake in a national monument.  I'm really bad. 

[slim rem 7]

 i just think of how fast i could have been with an airweight at 25 yrs. old..
 nobody,,, didn t get hit by my jab... same principles apply as point an shoot...
 i coulda been famous  for a little while...but then ida run into chuck fisher ,,i think was his name...
  from charlotte n.c.,i think...after the first few of mine that landed clean ,,he started getting his home..
 so in a gun fight ida mabe beat him also,,since only one hadda land as far as guns go...
 coulda been the king of open carry,,for a little bit..

[Brett]

Slim,

I don't care how fast you are. You will never draw your weapon from a holster and get an aimed shot off before someone with a gun in hand would get one off.  And if his gun is a shotgun loaded with buck shot he would only have to point it in your general direction at close range to put you out of commission.

I'll keep mine out of site until it is needed.  That way I may maintain the element of surprise.

[The Hermit]

I usually carry my S&W snubbie in my front pants pocket. I have a permit for it. The main reason I do so is out of courtesy for those who are scared of an openly armed person, not wearing a badge.
Having said that, I still reserve my right to carry open. A person may argue that by not exercising that right, I might loose it.  Food for thought.
 

    The Hermit

[LONGTOM]

VA also has open carry and I do so regularly.
I have never been detained for having it out in the open.
Have been through many road checks with it laying on the seat beside me.
I always tell the officer as soon as he comes up that I have a handgun on the seat.
It has never caused a problem.
In fact, most officers thank me for telling them instead of waiting until they see it on their own.
Sometimes they do ask that I keep my hands on the wheel.
I can understand that.
No problem!



LONGTOM

[nomosendero]

Kwells I agree, but Beebe is a Socialist Demoncrap!!