News - Arkansas Carry

Why ''Open Carry'' Gun Laws Work

no_email@example.com (Steve)

Second Amendment or no, law-abiding citizens have the right to go about their business

Posted April 15, 2010

John Pierce, cofounder of OpenCarry.org, is a second-year student at Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minn., and holds an M.B.A. from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

The phrase "open carry" refers to the act of law-abiding citizens carrying a properly holstered handgun in plain sight, wherever it is legal to do so, as they go about their daily lives. This includes such mundane tasks as driving to work, walking the dog, grabbing a cup of coffee at Starbucks, or buying a book at Barnes & Noble. Those who choose open carry are just going about their business while armed, just as do the 6 million-plus Americans who hold concealed-carry permits. The only difference—open carriers have taken their jackets off.

Read the rest of this story from U.S. News and World Report.

New Poll/Survey

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Vote in our new poll! Do you think citizens convicted of non-violent felonies (murder, robbery, rape,etc). should have their right to keep and bear arms restored?

Mother: son not expected to survive, on life support

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JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) – Arkansas State University Police have not yet made any arrests regarding the shooting of a senior college student. In a news release Friday, ASU Police Chief Jim Chapman said Michael Gilmore, 24 of Helena/West Helena, was shot and sent to The Med in Memphis in critical condition. Gilmore lives in building six at Collegiate Park Apartments.

Get the rest of the details here. and take part in the poll on the home page.

New Arkansas Carry Poll

no_email@example.com (chris)

What direction do you think Arkansas Carry should head to raise awareness on Open Carry and other issues? Vote in our new poll and let us know! Got a better idea than the survey? Post a comment on this thread!

Texas Tech students hold silent protest for concealed carry on campus

no_email@example.com (chris)

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - This week some Tech students will join the national "Empty Holster Protest." Students will wear their empty holsters into classrooms all week to push for changes in legislation that would allow them to carry in classrooms.

"Students for Concealed Carry on Campus" was created after the Virginia Tech shooting. Members say carrying their handguns is for self defense.

"God forbid something like that happens here at Texas Tech but we do have other incidents and things that being able to carry on campus would prevent," says Peter Farr, Tech campus leader for Concealed Carry on Campus.

Texas law and Texas Tech Police currently allow licensed gun holders to carry on campus grounds and in vehicles, but not in buildings or residence halls. Farr hopes Tech will move to change those policies. "I think it disarms me," says Farr who lives on campus and feels he should be able to carry for self defense.

Other students have mixed opinions. Texas Tech Sophomore Lindsey Shipp says being able to carry in class has it's up and downs. "If there were something to happen at school it would be nice knowing people had guns in class to take care of the situation, but at the same time it could also be used for bad things," say Shipp.

Senior Amy Terry says people should have the right to carry if they have license, but that the classroom isn't the best place to have them. "I think we live in a World where bad things are always going to happen, and if you bring guns into the classrooms and try to protect bad things from happening, more bad things are going to happen," says Terry.

The rest of the story

Arizona becomes the third ''Constitutional Carry'' state

no_email@example.com (Steve)

SB 1108, the Constitutional Carry bill passed the Senate on the third read on Monday, March 29. Since the House passed an identical bill (HB 2347) it appears that SB 1108 will be substituted for HB 2347 for the House third read. The vote could be as early as today, March 30, 2010.

With the passage of this bill, Arizona will be the third state to adopt a Vermont style carry. No permit will be needed to carry either openly or concealed except where a permit is required by existing law. Restaurants that serve alcohol will require a permit and concealed carry. The Arizona permit will be maintained for reciprocity and background check purposes.

Preemption clarification and strengthening also passed the Senate, will now go the House where the same substitution is expected.

The Arizona Firearms Freedom Act, similar to Montana’s passed the House and heads to the Senate for formality.

Arkansans want to carry weapons in the open and stage protest hike over it

no_email@example.com (chris)

Forty-three states now allow gun owners to openly carry firearms. However, Arkansas is not among them. But a group is stepping up efforts to try to change that.

Nick Stehle walked the trails of Petit Jean Mountain Saturday; his wife beside him and their two-year-old in tow.

"I should be able to protect my wife and my kid," Stehle said.

Stehle is one of the newest members of Arkansas Carry, a grassroots organization looking to change Arkansas gun laws. Currently on the agenda is to make Arkansas an open-carry state.

"The biggest thing for me is: if I'm concealing it with my permit and I reach for a can of vegetables at Wal-Mart and it's exposed, technically, I've committed a crime," said Stehle.

Plaintiff in handgun case sues for right to carry in D.C.

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By Christian Davenport / Washington Post Staff Writer

He was at the heart of the landmark Supreme Court case that took down the District's handgun ban. But before arriving at the range, he warns in a text message: "You will find I'm not the best shot."

Once he fires a few rounds, however, it's clear that Tom G. Palmer is no novice, either. He lands a couple right in the torso of his human-shaped target. Then he aims at the target's head, misses once by a few inches, then hits twice.

But what good is such a skill, Palmer asks, if you're not free to protect yourself on the streets of your own city?

As one of the plaintiffs who sued the District for the right to keep handguns in the home, Palmer has one notch on his belt. Now he's suing the city again, this time for the right to carry firearms in public.

The rest of the story may be read at WashingtonPost.com.

Thanks to @ARCCABlog and @sayuncleblog for the tweets on this story!

After concealed weapons allowed, crime dropped

no_email@example.com (Steve)

CSU has been a safer place since late 2003, one CSU student found, when it decided to allow the university community to carry concealed weapons on campus –– a policy that could be holstered next Tuesday.

According to a report written by senior history major Brady Allen contesting the CSU System Board of Governors’ December decision to ban concealed weapons on campus, violent crime rates at CSU have declined since 2003. And although he could not prove a direct correlation between concealed carry and good campus safety, Allen said the decreasing crime rate speaks for itself.

“You can’t argue with it. The last six years have been the safest in CSU history and concealed carry is part of that,” Allen, who is not affiliated with any lobbyist or gun advocacy group, said.

The rest of the story is at Collegian.com.

Let them drink Starbucks

no_email@example.com (Steve)

Marie Antoinette's alleged answer of "let them eat cake" to the question of how to feed starving peasants during the French Revolution may have sped her journey to the guillotine. But that was most probably due to the fact that there was no cake to eat.

Starbucks on the other hand is open for business and serving gun owners without discrimination, unlike some other commercial outfits like Peet's Coffee & Tea. Recently in California when hand gun carriers were told "no room at the Inn" by Pete's, they headed to Starbucks, causing anti-gun outfits to demand Starbucks' discriminate against lawful gun owners.

The rest of the article can be read at Examiner.com.