Sheriff’s office opposes open carry of handguns

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is critical of an opinion by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge dealing with the open carry of weapons.

Sheriff’s spokesman Maj. Lafayette Woods Jr. said in a press release, "Open carry is unsafe, intimidating and potentially dangerous, especially given that there are no provisions for proper administration, controls and protection for the public."

On Aug. 28, the Arkansas News Bureau reported that Rutledge, a Republican serving her first term, said in an opinion that a 2013 law that allows a person to openly carry a handgun as long as he or she does so without intent to use it unlawfully against another person and does not violate any other gun law.

Rutledge issued the opinion in response to questions from legislators about the meaning of Act 746, which was sponsored by then-state Rep. Denny Altes, R-Fort Smith.

Former Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, a Democrat who left office Dec. 31, said in an opinion that the law does not permit open carry.

Pine Bluff Police Chief Jeff Hubanks said before Rutledge issued her opinion, officers were trained that if a person had a weapon in their vehicle or on their person and could not prove that person intended to use it in a criminal manner, it was legal for them to have the weapon.

"We haven’t had any problems that I am aware of," Hubanks said. "Of course, individual store owners, churches and the like have the right to say no weapons in their facility.

"I guess that gun owners have been responsible with where and how they carry their weapons," Hubanks said.

An attorney general’s opinion does not have the force of law and is not binding on courts.

"From a law enforcement prospective, Act 746 and/or related proposals to allow open carry in Arkansas is unnecessary, redundant and not well thought out, and will lead to dire unintended consequences for Arkansas citizens and visitors to this state," Woods said in the press release. "To put more guns in the hands of more people is an invitation to chaos, especially given the disparity in who will be armed and who won’t."

Rutledge said in the opinion that private property owners and occupants still have the right to keep handguns off their property and "the laws requiring a license to carry a concealed handgun still have full force and effect."

Woods also said in the press release: "As a veteran of law enforcement, I am fearful of allowing people to open carry out of concern about not knowing who is the good guy or the bad guy in the midst of a violent encounter. Law enforcement and communities at large view the carrying of any type of weapons, openly or concealed, as a threat to their well being and public safety."

Woods also said in the press release, "Many first-time carriers will also be untrained in retaining control of their own weapons and may make it possible for others to grab their guns and use them against innocent bystanders. Guns kill the innocent and the guilty equally: When the smoke settles, the dead have no voice.

"Since the passing of Act 746, I’ve seen the open carry debate become increasingly uncivil and in some cases even threatening," Woods said in the press release. "On Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014, Pro-gun activists of Arkansas Carry used our city as a political stage through a march downtown Pine Bluff that did nothing more than deliberately try to inflame the public and provoke a response from law enforcement. One supporter even called out the sheriff in a challenging tone."

Nicholas Stehle, the chairman of a group called Arkansas Carry that sponsored the march, said in an article at the time that the act "gives law-abiding citizens the legal right to carry a firearm either openly or concealed as long as their is no intent to use the firearm for illegal purposes."

Stehle said in the article that prosecutors face a "very high bar" in prosecuting a person for carrying a weapon because they have to prove intent.

One of those who marched through downtown Pine Bluff in 2014 was Nathan Irvin of Pine Bluff, who had a handgun in plain view in a holster on his belt.

He said in the article that he had been carrying a firearm for about 12 years, but before Act 746, carried it concealed.

"I believe everybody who is not a convicted felon has a right to carry a weapon," he said at the time, adding that in the years he has carried a gun, he has "never had to pull it out."

Woods said in the press release that the solution to concerns about violence are: "better and more effectively achieved through policy initiatives that address the sources of our wounds such as poverty, obesity, smoking addiction, mental illness and health disparity, to name a few. When we focus on and get these areas right, we will have achieved great strides toward reducing the conditions that perpetuate violence in society."