Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Arkansas open carrier Richard Chambliss has his victory:
An open carry case against Bald Knob resident Richard Chambless has been dismissed, officials say.
Chambless was convicted of disorderly conduct in Bald Knob District Court in August. He was arrested earlier that month after openly carrying a firearm in a Bald Knob restaurant and other businesses.
After he was arrested, Chambless cited Act 746 and said it made open carry legal in The Natural State.
Because Attorney General Leslie Rutledge hadn’t issued an official opinion on the matter of open carry at the time, multiple Arkansas law enforcement agencies had issued their own decision on whether they’d arrest someone simply for openly carrying a firearm.
Before August ended, Rutledge issued an official opinion stating that open carry is legal in The Natural State as long as the gun carrier doesn’t attempt to unlawfully use their firearm.
On Tuesday, the case against Chambless was dropped, according to Bald Knob City Attorney Don Raney.
“I did nothing wrong and today the city of Bald Knob finally conceded to that fact,” Chambless said.
Chambliss had been convicted in August, but promised to appeal the court’s rather idiotic ruling.
After the conviction, the Bald Knob police chief claimed that his vehicle was vandalized and then torched by open carry advocates, which we noted at the time would be very out of character for open carry supporters, who have consistently favored civil disobedience but have been very resistant to criminal behavior.
Oddly, the chief then resigned several days later. No arrests have been made in the arson case.
We congratulate Mr. Chambliss on his victory, and hope that it helps resolve questions about open carry in Arkansas.