Posted on 11/13/2012 6:57:11 AM PST by marktwain
Open carry of guns just went into effect in Oklahoma November 1st.
It's something legislators in Arkansas have been trying to pass for years, but always failed. Lawmakers and gun owners think now is the time for Arkansas to adopt an open carry law.
Open carry of guns is a sensitive issue with strong opinions on both sides, and while passing open carry laws in the past have always failed in Arkansas, now with the support of neighboring state Oklahoma, open carry supporters say, it betters the chances Arkansas could pass a similar law.
43 states allow gun owners to openly display handguns in public. Nicholas Stehle with the organization Arkansas Carry says Arkansas is one of only 7 states that doesn't allow any kind of open carry.
Open carry bills failed in Arkansas in 2009 and 2011, but might not fail in the future. Gun owners say it's time for a change. A gunsmith for 41 years, Rick Breshears thinks crime will go down if open carry is passed in Arkansas. He says gun carrying citizens are a great deterrent. "I much prefer open carry because if you're standing in a store and someone comes in to rob it, you're standing there with your gun."
Right now, Arkansas lawmakers are working on several possible open carry bills. Stehle teaches a concealed weapons course and supports open carry. "I think it's important for Arkansas to see Oklahoma passed open carry and the world didn't end. There isn't blood running in the streets."
Breshears says people shouldn't feel threatened by, or be afraid of open carry. "Guns are not the root of all evil." Breshears just wants to be able to defend himself. "You can use them for offense or defense."
Since roughly 6% of adults in Arkansas are already armed, Breshears says he'd rather know about it. "I think it would be a little better if people could see it."
Governor Mike Beebe has spoken on this topic in the past saying he does not support open carry because he doesn't think it's good public policy.
It would require modifying the Texas state constitution to get open carry. The state constitution specifically forbids carryiing a firearm openly.
You wouldn't think that in a red state like OK, but I promise, it's true.
Open carry of guns just went into effect in Oklahoma November 1st.”
You know, if Texas were able to secede, I’m not so sure it would be bad to invite Oklahoma along to play......
With all of the wailing that went on in the media in Oklahoma before the Nov. 1 enactment of the open carry law, you would have thought that it would be the wild west by now. I’ve talked to a few police officers that I know, and they are really not concerned about the issue. They know that the CCW holders are the good guys, and not the people that they need to be concerned with.
I have yet to see a single person open carry. Most of the people that are CCW holders, myself included, have little desire to carry openly. It is nice knowing that the option is available is we choose to do so.
I carry openly and/or indifferently concealed half or more of the time in Colorado. Once every two or three years, someone notices I’m carrying a gun. No one’s ever expressed a speck of hostility.
I believe that you are mistaken.
The Texas Constitution protections for carrying arms have been modified several times. The original Texas constitution had strong protection for the carrying of arms. After the Civil War (or war of northern aggression, if you prefer) the carpetbagger government passed a state constitution (1869) that eliminated the right to carry arms.
In 1873, the population voted out the carpetbagger government. The governor was driven from his mansion by an armed group of citizen volunteers. The state constitution was amended in 1876. The protection of the right to be armed was renewed, but a fatal flaw was inserted: the right to regulate the carrying of arms in order to prevent crime, was given to the legislature.
I do not see any constitutional provision forbidding the carrying of arms openly.
If you can find such, please point it out.
I stand corrected. However, such a law would be either a PR nightmare and/or bonanza depending upon the point of view. Regardless, such a proposal would stay in the headlines for quite some time.
I live in Arkansas and support open carry, much more confortable.
The main reason I like "open carry" is in case a CCW holder's jacket rides up or is blown open (exposing the firearm), he's OK from any charges (since he just briefly went from legal concealed carry, to legal open carry, and back to legal concealed carry)
I agree whole-heartedly. The heat in Texas makes concealed carry a royal pain, unless you carry a derringer.
I would welcome open carry here in Virginia, but I doubt it happens.
Virginia is a gold star open carry state. It has been a leader in normalizing open carry.
http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/showthread.php?108043-Increasing-acceptance-of-Open-Carry
As an aside, like with many states, in Arkansas there is the big city of Little Rock, and then there is the rest of the state. And as you might expect, Little Rock is infested with the lowest order of violent criminal underclass.
Some years ago, Little Rock had a liberal mayor who was utterly spineless, and the criminal underclass went on a murderous rampage, mostly against each other and mostly over business matters, while he impotently wrung his hands and deplored the situation.
The rest of the nation was blissfully unaware of this, as the big newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which is actually much better than average, was very clinging to the copyright of its news stories, so Arkansas news seldom left the state.
A friend sent me many clippings, however, of the brutal carnage found in Little Rock.
I mention all of this as preface to what will happen if Arkansas rapidly goes open carry. Specifically that Little Rock will be an interesting test bed, to see what will happen when eventually Chicago and New York become gun friendly.
Is it actually codified in Virginia law that a citizen can carry openly? and if so, what restrictions?
I do not know, please help me with this.
Thank you for the link. I did not about that law. I will have to exercise that right.
Have a good day!
Go to this link. Read. Learn.
This is a common and unsettling misconception about law in the United States.
In the United States, the basic philosophy is: if it is not prohibited by law, it is legal.
The statist philosophy is: If it is not allowed by law, it is prohibited.
These are very different propositions.
Thanks in advance for exercising your rights. I suggest that you attend one of the open carry events. They are supposed to be a lot of fun.
I plan to. Have a nice day!
Absolutely agreed, the misconception is quite disturbing... I sometimes cynically wonder if the misconception is purposely foisted on people and, if so, how long it will be until the lie told often becomes 'the truth' and we who assert the former policy are derided in the same manner as "tin-foil hat conspiracy theorists".
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