Carry laws in Arkansas
On one page I read Arkansas is a constitutional carry state and another page states must have cc permit. Who is sure what is? I'm being charged with no permit on an open carry.
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You need to read your state police web site on the subject of cc permits .
You will see a permit is required to carry concealed and no open carry is permitted with or without a permit. Along with all other rules and regs that are state law.0 -
Your second mistake is coming here for legal advice.
Even if the legal advice you receive here is correct, how does that help you? Being "right" certainly helps, but it may not be enough to keep you out of jail.
I strongly advice you to get a good criminal defense lawyer, especially one who is specifically experienced in the area of AR gun law, and direct these questions to him/her. If you don't have/know one, contact your local NRA branch to recommend one. Or maybe contact the AR carry group listed below.
In general, just because you have a State Constitutional right to carry a gun DOES NOT mean that said right is unlimited. The State of AR still can (and does) limit where and how you can carry.
For more detail, see here:
http://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-laws/arkansas.aspx
Based on my read here (and see above about uselessness of my personal opinion on this matter) its *probably* legal for you to carry a gun openly in AR *IF*:
-Its on your own property, or
-You are carrying said gun while using it for legal hunting, or on way to or from hunting, or
-You are a law enforcement officer, or are legally acting on behalf of one.
There may be other circumstances (eg on a gun range, during training or competitions, etc) where this type of carry is acceptable.
Barring that. . .I honestly don't know. If you want to carry concealed you need a permit, but openly doesn't seems to be specified one way or the other. The Constitional carry provision is probably new enough that depending on the exact circumstances here, you may be in a "grey zone" where the written and/or case law on this aren't well defined. I suspect that this actually is the case, which means that you may be a sort of "test case". Again, I strongly urge you to get proper legal counsel here.
quote:You need to read your state police web site on the subject of cc permits .
You will see a permit is required to carry concealed and no open carry is permitted with or without a permit. Along with all other rules and regs that are state law.
Well, State police recommendations are a good place to start, but in my experience, they may not be up to date or entirely accurate.
In this case, I don't think what you've posted above is entirely accurate (as per my examples above). There are individuals in AR who are carrying openly:
quote:http://www.arkansascarry.com/
Arkansas Carry has held 15 open carry walks to date and are planning on having a statewide walk on August 16th, 2014 to celebrate the one year anniversary of Act 746. These walks are being held in Fort Smith, Jonesboro, Beebe, Little Rock, Hot Springs, and Monticello. The walks are to celebrate Constitutional Carry, so you can carry open or concealed, without a permit, it's personal preference. Or if you don't feel comfortable carrying, just come out and show your support.
Is this legal? This organization seems to think it is. Honestly, I don't know.
Edit: One thing I can say with a good degree of confidence, is that an AR concealed carry permit does not entitle you to carry openly. If its legal, it should be legal without said permit too.
In the meantime, I just looked into this more, and my earlier guess about this seems to be correct. AR law appears to be ambiguous on the legality of open carry right now:
http://ualrpublicradio.org/post/open-carry-legal-arkansas-depends-who-you-ask
http://thecabin.net/news/local/2013-11-22/open-carry-wont-be-prosecuted-hiland-says#.VEVn6FfvZal
Now in theory, what isn't prohibited should be permitted, and if there isn't a law prohibiting open carry, it should be OK. Assuming you weren't doing anything else wrong at the time of this arrest, I think you can probably get these charges dropped. But again, this is something best handled by an experienced lawyer, not internet wannabes.0 -
You need a permit to carry concealed.
Opinions on the legality of open carry differ. Handgun law says not.
Even if it were, timid citizens and even cops are not knowledgeable and may disapprove and hassle you. A serious anti might well even SWAT you. I wouldn't do it.
Oops, just noticed, you did do it.
Get a lawyer.0 -
The state police issues permits to carry concealed handguns to qualified residents at lease 21 years old.5 year terms..No permits to non residents but will recognize carry permits from all other states.you must inform a police officer upon contact that they are carrying a handgun...
Travelers guide to the firearm laws of the fifty states...2014... YMMV... [:)]0 -
Open carry: prohibited in public areas under most circumstances... 0 -
As has been pointed out, you need to know the laws before you carry. In most states, open carry is prohibited, except unless you are in the process of doing something, like herding cattle, or hunting. In those states, where concealed permits, it means concealed, but to varying degrees, depending on which state. In some states, if your handgun is printing its outline, thru your clothing, you can be charged with brandishing a weapon.
Hope it all works out for you.0 -
quote:Originally posted by tsr1965
As has been pointed out, you need to know the laws before you carry. In most states, open carry is prohibited, except unless you are in the process of doing something, like herding cattle, or hunting. In those states, where concealed permits, it means concealed, but to varying degrees, depending on which state. In some states, if your handgun is printing its outline, thru your clothing, you can be charged with brandishing a weapon.
Hope it all works out for you.
To be clear, there are jurisdictions where open carry is permitted, but concealed carry requires a permit.
The problem is that in many places gun laws are either ambiguous, or simply not enforced as written. Because of a relatively recent change in AR state law, Arkansas appears to be one of these places right now.
Again, specifically because the AR law here is ambiguous on open carry, and because the statute seems to permit it under certain circumstances, I bet this poster can *probably* get the charges here dropped, but he's going to need legal help. A stubborn prosecutor could push this to jury trial, and at least as of this writing, the statute has not been tested by the AR Supreme Court. . .so this could be a "test case".
In MA, as a sort of counter-example there is actually no specific law against someone with a "license to carry" (that's what the CCW is called there) carrying openly. On the LTC itself it says you can carry "for all lawful purposes", it doesn't specify or even mention "concealed".
Despite that, nobody who has gone through the expensive and difficult process of getting an LTC there would dare carry open, except MAYBE on a gun range or while hunting. Unless you're a cop or security guard, if you tried open carry in any other context, at *best* you could expect to be arrested. At worst, some cop would shoot you on sight.
Despite the fact that concealed carry is legal (with the appropriate, nearly impossible to obtain license), and open carry isn't specifically prohibited, most cops in MA automatically assume
"holding gun = criminal", and act accordingly.
EG: http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2010/01/06/disgrace-circuit-court-rules-ma-concealed-carry-permits-are-worthless/
There is one well known case in MA where an individual with a valid LTC was legally carrying concealed, but a cop saw his CCW via an open jacket. This individual was arrested, and I believe he eventually lost his CCW, again, despite the fact that he didn't violate any laws. That's because in MA, the LTCs are issued on a discretionary basis, and this guys CLEO just decided he wasn't a suitable LTC holder anymore. So even though the LAW says you can carry openly, in reality, you can't.
On "brandishing" the exact definition varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but most of them require deliberately displaying a gun in a negligent or threatening way. If your gun is holstered, almost by definition you can't be "brandishing" in most (but not all!) jurisdictions. I don't think "brandishing" was raised in this particular case in MA, but there are jurisdictions where if your CCW is visible, "brandishing" (or some variant of same) might apply.
My take on "brandishing" is pretty simple. Don't draw or display your gun unless you intend to immediately shoot it (ie not unless you feel you are in severe imminent danger). This way you avoid any potential ambiguity with your draw.0 -
Right now it is up in the air
New law last year probably means no permit needed for CCW if you are"traveling"
Going through the court system right now
Conveniently my permit expired this summer
I still CCW
I would love to be the plaintiff in a case against the AG0
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