HOW WE SEE IT

State Need Not Follow Oklahoma

If you mosey over to our neighbor to the west, Oklahoma, don’t get all flustered if you see some regular Joe totin’ his firearm around like it’s all legal to be a rootin’ tootin’ cowboy.

As of Nov. 1, it’s likely he’s got every legal right to be packin’ his pistol.

The Oklahoma Legislature earlier this year approved a law that allows any person licensed by the state to carry a concealedhandgun to now strap it on for the entire world to see.

Now, it ain’t just any yahoo who can carry his favorite shooter around out in the open. Only licensed holders can do that. The paperwork itself is now called a firearms license, and it’s up to the individual to decide whether to hide it or wear it so all the onlookers can admire it.

We suspect the success open-carry advocates experienced in Oklahoma might inspire a similar shoot-out - figuratively speaking, that is - on the matter here in Arkansas. Don’t forget, we’ve got our own lawmakers who’ve advocated more guns on college campuses and the like.

Before any of you Second Amendment folks start yappin’ about how the liberal media hates guns and wants to help the government take ’em away, just hold your horses. This is Arkansas, and newsrooms have their fair share of hunters of deer, squirrel, duck and all sorts of other critters. Heck, some of us love our handguns just as much as the next guy.

But open carry? Is that really necessary in the 21st century? Are we trying to relive the wild, wild west?

We suspect the folks who support this are often the ones who believe the government has no authority to place any limits on guns - their manufacture, their capabilities or their presence.

We just don’t buy that interpretation of the 2nd Amendment.

Open carry, the intentional introduction of guns into everyday situations by virtue of public policy, does nothing to enhance public safety.

Concealed weapons give licensed Americans a method of self-protection, and we’re convinced most responsible gun owners take their personal safety, and that of their communities, seriously.

But what’s the point of ensuring people can show off their weapons to the people around them? It’s rather absurd.

Hopefully, none of Arkansas’ lawmakers get ideas about open carry legislation. How many of them want people coming to their next town hall meetings with guns strapped to their belts?

This is an idea worth leaving in the Sooner State. CASUALTIES OF WAR To honor the men and women in our armed forces and remind our readers of their sacrifices, Northwest Arkansas Newspapers are publishing Department of Defense announcements identifying Americans killed in active military operations.

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Daniel T.

Metcalfe, 29, of Liverpool, N.Y., died Sept.

29, in Sayyid Abad, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked hisunit with small-arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy.

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Aaron A. Henderson, 33, of Houlton, Maine, died Oct. 2 at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit on Sept. 30 with an improvised explosive device in Zombalay Village, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 11/12/2012

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