Ark. gun rights group plans ‘open carry’ march

Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK — A dozen gun rights supporters plan to march in a western Arkansas city this weekend with their f irearms on display to highlight a law that they argue allows the open carry of handguns, despite an attorney general’s opinion saying otherwise.

Arkansas Carry, a gun rights group, on Saturday plans to hold an invitation- only “open carry” march in Fort Smith to highlight the disputed law, which took effect Aug. 16. Atty. Gen. Dustin McDaniel last month said the new law makes technical corrections regarding the possession of a handgun but didn’t remove the restrictions on carrying weapons openly.

Arkansas law currently states that being on a journey is a defense to prosecution for illegally carrying a weapon, but doesn’t define what constitutes a journey. The new law defines a journey as traveling “beyond the county in which the person lives.”

The head of Arkansas Carry, which has about 200 members in the state, says the advisory opinion by McDaniel is wrong.

“Basically we’re going to do the walk because it’s legal and we’re trying to show that act 746 does authorize open carry contrary to what the attorney general said,” Steve Jones, the group’s chairman, said Thursday.

Jones said the group coordinated the event with police and prosecutors, though city officials say they’re staying out of the debate over McDaniel’s opinion.

In an e-mail to officers, Fort Smith Police Chief Kevin Lindsey wrote that the city prosecutor advised him there wouldn’t be a violation of the law unless “an officer could prove that there was an unlawful attempt to employ a handgun, knife, or club as a weapon against a person.”

A spokesman for the department said there will be a patrol car on hand at Saturday’s march.