I’m in Arkansas. We have legal open or concealed carry without a license. I wanted to get licensed anyway, so I got the enhanced. Now I’ve heard from two different people that I can no longer open carry. One at a gun shop and one person posted it here.
I don’t want to carry openly except when I’m walking the dogs or on my property (not around people), but it seems bizarre to me that this would be the case. Haven’t been able to find anything else out online.
Does anyone have any info on this, or ideas why it would even be a ‘thing’?
I appreciate the link, I read it all for the 4th time now and don’t see anything definitive. The wording that I think is in question is “Is open carry permitted in Arkansas? Yes, without a permit/license .” The wording could prove tricky as it doesn’t state that it’s OK to open carry WITH a concealed permit / license.
If you are looking for a law saying you are allowed to open carry you will not find it. The law tells us things we are not allowed to do. Rights tell us thing we are allowed to do. If there is no law saying you are not allowed to do something and it is your right to do it you can do it. If your conscience tells you not to do something that is different all together. Sometimes the law tell us what we have to do in a particular situation.
Carry concealed anyways. Why? If there is a bad actor with intent in an environment that has plans to do the metaphorical mass event and you’re spotting carrying…, you’ve suddenly become a threat to that agenda and just become the first target that they’ll attempt to go after. Carry concealed for safety reasons and the element of surprise to defend. Some argue that clothing can slow you down and that’s why LEO’s wear outside of the uniform. That isn’t always true and a LEO is obvious most times anyhow. Carrying concealed also keeps crimes with firearms down to a percentage. The criminals aren’t sure who may be carrying and if a state is like mine (Georgia) you’re legally exempt from criminal or civil prosecution for protecting a Third Party of or for their life and limb. I would look at speaking with State Police about the matter and research with the U.S. Law Shield. Some states also have what is known as a Carry.Org web link. I review my state’s laws regularly like 2-3 times a month just in case something slipped through that the media either missed or ejected from reporting. That’s just me though.
I’m not a lawyer, I can’t and won’t interpret the law, and this is not legal advice.
Just as a regular lay-person…I cannot possibly imagine that open carry is legal without requirement a license…and then becomes illegal if you have a concealed carry license.
Try researching it this way:
Find the law that you would be charged with violating for carrying openly
If someone tells you it would be illegal, politely ask them to show you the law they are getting that from.
No argument from me there, Aaron, I like to know what’s legal and what’s not though. I do prefer to open carry at times, but not in public. Mainly when I’m off the beaten path. I’m really just looking at the legal aspect here, not moral or tactical. Thanks for your thoughts!
It didn’t make any sense to me either, the guy at the gun range is a respected instructorand ex military guy, so I was interested to hear what he had to say.
Spikes,
I am an Arkansas CHCL Instructor. Contact me directly so I can help you understand how WRONG those folks are. I have some specific information on Arkansas license and Constitutional Carry rules.
See my profile here on how to contact me, or us private message in the board.