Arkansas Case May Finally Determine If Open Carry Is Legal

By Bob Owens

An Arkansas man arrested for open carrying his Springfield Armory pistol was arrested by a Bald Knob police officer, leading the local police and the open carrier to have a war of words with one another, which each citing Arkansas law.

It looks like the open carrier, Richard Chambless, will have his day in court today, and a judge will have the first crack at determining what Act 746 (PDF) really means.

Since its passage, Act 746 has been controversial. The statute has been interpreted different ways, but Tuesday, one man will find out how a judge interprets the law.

On a Tuesday afternoon in May, Richard Chambless decided to walk around his hometown of Bald Knob and do some shopping. He started at McDonald’s, walking under the bridge and shopping in two stores before returning to the restaurant to get a drink. It wasn’t unusual behavior, except for the fact that the whole time Chambless was carrying his gun on his hip.

“As long as you don’t have unlawful intent, it is not a crime to carry a handgun in self defense, and that’s what I was doing. I was out shopping in town, stopped here to get a …read more

Source:: Bearing Arms