Arkansas Has Constitutional Carry Walks in Russleville and Mountain Home

Two separate open carry/ constitutional carry, or celebrate Act 746 walks, took place in Arkansas last Saturday, 15 March.   One of the walks was in Russelville, the second was in Mountain Home.   Both walks were peaceful and relatively uneventful, as has come to be the norm.  No one was arrested and a good time was had.  From Arkansascarry.com:

The Russellvile open carry celebration walk on March 15th, 2014 was another huge success. The Russellville police department was very easy to work with and Fat Daddy’s BBQ did an excellent job feeding all of us. Great food as well if you are ever in the Russellvile area.

Another Act 746 celebration march was held in Mountain Home, with at least 70 participants.   The pictures show a group three times the size of the Russelville march.   From the baxterbulletin.com:

Organized by Arkansas Carry, the unprecedented event for the Twin Lakes Area celebrated what the pro-gun group calls the right of state residents to openly carry a firearm, an interpretation it believes is lawful through Act 746 legislation passed last April by Arkansas lawmakers.

 As has become common in these events, the group received feedback that their actions were appreciated:

 As the group walked, passing motorists occasionally honked their horns and waved, with group members waving back under sunny skies.

On the discussion forum for Arkansas at opencarry.org, endorphine44 sums up what has happened with the education effort on Act 746 so far:

all of the threats and posturing from the anti-gun crowd has been exactly that so far. I think they fully understand they can’t do anything about it and are hoping the idle threats will stop it.

I’m not aware of anyone being arrested for open carry, even in cities that have squealed the loudest about not allowing it. The worst story I can come up with was a 10-15 min “detention” by LRPD in a WalMart that ended with everyone walking away.

Last year I would have bet money that this would have already resulted in an arrest and court case to validate Constitutional Carry in Arkansas, but at this point I’m almost convinced it’s going to happen without any challenge at all. As more people become comfortable with open carry and are exposed to more people carrying in the open there will be much less will of the people to change or “clarify” the law.

 Another celebrate Act 746 walk is scheduled for Eureka Springs on March 29th.

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