Right up front, Gentle Readers, I am NOT opposed to the 2nd Amendment which grants us all the right to "...bear arms.." in the context of the Constitution.
But locally, seeing an average man or woman in the local bakery, the discount retailer or a local restaurant, packing a firearm -- well, that makes me a bit nervous.
Again for transparency, I'll divulge my personal gun status.
I own firearms -- a 12 gauge shotgun that is a beloved bequest from my late father's estate and a couple of .22 rifles and a bb gun or two. I have the ammunition for those guns. I keep them all in a safe place where my grandchildren and others cannot get to them for safety reasons.
I would not wag that shotgun (or any gun) into the discount retailer, a restaurant or a bakery -- just because I can under Act 746 of 2013 or any other such law that the Arkansas General Assembly sees fit to pass.
Act 746 of 2013 does address "hand-guns" and not "long guns" -- because my critics would quickly say my shotgun would qualify the legal definition.
Nor would I, if I owned a pistol or handgun of any kind, for any reason openly wag that gun on my hip into the marketplace where I live, work and play.
I must say I do not feel intimidated by local law enforcement officials in Arkansas (be they city, county or state officers, in uniform and trained under state guidelines) wearing firearms as they go about their jobs.
I do not fear policemen with guns as they do their jobs. And over the 40-plus years in the newspaper business I have seen law enforcement officers, (1) pull their guns, (2) discharge their weapons and (3) have seen the after effects of firing that weapon.
If I were to find myself living in a community I felt was unsafe, I have several options at my disposal.
I could move and relocate.
Or I could seek to help the law enforcement community in that city, town or hamlet in this state, have the proper funding, training and tax support. Plus I could vote to elect officers who would provide the correct mixture of training and policing policies for my protection as a local citizen.
I don't want to live in a place where other citizens don't feel safe as well.
I do not believe that Act 746 of 2013 would stand a good court test on its functionality. The Act is one of those laws written at the behest of the Legislature without regard to a very good, practical test of "why do we need this law?"
All the pontification for Act 746 was predicated on the basic American rights regarding amendments to the sacred document, our Constitution, and not whether your neighbor can wear his holstered .357 Magnum to the coffee shop.
Arkansas and Arkansans have a very strong concealed carry law and program for training folks who think and feel they must, for personal protection, carry a handgun -- a concealed handgun.
Critics of open carry say the media (I guess that's me), the Arkansas State Police, local law enforcement and others are trying to defeat Act 746 of 2013.
A key element in the violation of 'Open Carry' must come from the local prosecutor, according to the Act. It is within the prosecutor's discretion to have to prove that a person with a weapon carried that weapon with the purpose or intent to use it unlawfully against another person before anyone can be charged with a crime.
Arkansas is not the Wild West we see on TV or read about in fictionalized Western novels.
I think open carry is bad for local business.
I think open carry by citizens shows disrespect for law enforcement in our state, county and town.
We don't need open carry. The Legislature needs to fix this law and use common sense, and not allow emotions to derail a reasonable attempt to repair the vagueness of Act 746 of 2013.
-- Maylon Rice is a former journalist who worked for several northwest Arkansas publications. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 06/24/2015