This Is What Happens When There Is Confusion In Open Carry Laws
BY Herschel Smith
9 years, 6 months ago
Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck says his deputies will not arrest anyone who openly carries a handgun.
“As long as the law is written as it is then we will not arrest any citizen for simply exercising their right to open carry,” the sheriff wrote on his Facebook page on Monday (June 1).
Cradduck said he posted his views on the issue because an overwhelming number of people have asked for his thoughts about open carry.
People committing crimes while openly carrying a handgun will still find themselves on the wrong side of the law, he noted.
“If there are other exigent circumstances involved, such as they are committing a crime while openly carrying, then they stand a good chance of being charged for whatever crime they committed, along with the charge of carrying a firearm without a concealed handgun license,” he wrote.
The controversy whether open carry is legal in Arkansas began after a bill was passed in the 2013 legislative session containing language some believe allows for open carry of handguns. Dustin McDaniel, who was the attorney general at the time, said open carry of handguns is illegal in the state.
However, the current attorney general, Leslie Rutledge, said she believes the law, known as Act 746, allows for open carry.
“I interpret it to mean an individual may carry so long as he or she does so without the intent to unlawfully employ it against another person,” she told 5NEWS in a prepared statement on Monday. “But anytime law enforcement and citizens disagree on a law we need to ensure there is clarity to protect our citizens. I am committed to working with the General Assembly to clarify any confusion surrounding Act 746 and its intent.”
Cradduck said in his Facebook post that he will stand by his position until state legislators approve a measure clarifying the law.
“Until the legislative bodies come together and write the law very clearly stating if and where you may or may not openly carry without a license, then I will not permit my deputies to arrest individuals who are carrying their firearms in an open fashion,” he wrote.
In 2013, Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder said he agreed with then-Prosecuting Attorney John Threet that open carry is permitted. Threet, who later won election as a Circuit Court judge, said he didn’t plan on prosecuting gun owners who openly carry firearms in Washington County. Helder said he would use Threet’s opinion in instructing his deputies on the legality of firearm open carry.
In the comments to Communist Art Acevedo Kills Constitutional Carry In Texas we discussed the various exigencies and vicissitudes of what LEOs think, how judges are likely to decide cases before them and other issues surrounding open carry when the law isn’t clear.
In Texas the lack of a provision prohibiting LEOs from stopping open carriers to demand evidence of permit will be a problem, I predict. In Arkansas we see now the problems associated with muddled laws. A note to legislators is in order. You aren’t doing anyone any favors by muddling the laws. Not LEOs, not judges, not the people. No one benefits because of your vacillation.
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On June 4, 2015 at 7:00 am, MrAleGuy said:
Not true.
THEY benefit from the vacillation. It positions them to be able to portray themselves as being in agreement on the issue with whomever they are interacting.
On June 4, 2015 at 12:35 pm, Mack said:
“We will not arrest …”
That’s not the potential problem. What citizens deserve to know is if LEO’s will detain anyone for further investigation while open carrying. That will be following by pat-downs, usually referred to as frisks. It’s for ‘officer safety’ don’t you know.
Fox News contributor and perjurer Mark Fuhrman supports such “proactive policing” tactics.
I say: “Hands off; don’t frisk!”
On June 4, 2015 at 12:51 pm, Herschel Smith said:
Mark Fuhrman is a mouthpiece for the collective.
On June 4, 2015 at 1:49 pm, Mack said:
Herschel, apply your Engineer’s Analysis and look at this:
It Takes A Lot Of Stop-And-Frisks To Find One Gun
Beginning in 2007, the New York Civil
Liberties Union (NYCLU) filed a series of Freedom of Information Act requests
to get the NYPD’s data on its stop-and-frisk encounters and what was found. In
2012, the NYPD made more than 532,000 stops, each of which could progress to a
frisk or to a full search. The police found guns only 715 times.1 In other
words, guns were found during 0.1 percent of stops.
That figure casts doubt on whether stop-and-frisks are
useful in finding weapons and taking them off the street, but it is also the
least generous way of judging the NYPD’s program.
…
The numbers available aren’t convincing enough to win the argument for either side.
Well I’m convinced. You?
On June 7, 2015 at 4:57 pm, Bill Daigle said:
ambiguity…the cops best friend