AP - Arkansas legislature set to vote on open carry bill

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ne..._legislation_heads_before_ark__lawmakers.html

SNIP

The proposal in Arkansas _ like laws in states that allow guns to be carried out in the open _ doesn't actually mention "open carry." It would make current restrictions apply to concealed handguns, instead of all handguns.

"Most states don't say it's legal to open carry," said Mike Stollenwerk, co-founder of a pro-gun website called OpenCarry.org. "They just don't prohibit it."

Gun laws in many of those states often stem from centuries-old ideologies, says Gary Kleck, a criminology professor at Florida State University in Tallahassee.

The thought process, Kleck says, went something like this: Honest men carry guns out in the open because they've got nothing to hide, while the criminally-inclined stow away their weapons. Hence the restrictions, like permits, on concealed guns.

. . .

Still, Stollenwerk said states should give people the choice to carry guns out in the open, even if they carry concealed weapons most of the time.

HB1051 is on the Judiciary Commitee agenda as a special item for discussion on February 8th. Proceedings begin at 10 AM and can be viewed via live stream by accessing the website at:

http://arkansas-house.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=70

Well, even though HB1051 was listed on the Judiciary Commitee agenda, it was announced at the opening of the meeting that because Rep. Altes had amended the bill and it had been sent back to the house for reading into record, the commitee could not suspend the rules to allow discussion today, and the bill would be discussed at a later date (to be announced).

It would have been nice for this to have been posted on the AR Legislature website, so that those who went to the meeting to speak for or against the bill would not have taken time out of their day to do so only to be inconvenienced and dispappointed. :uhoh: