Springdale Group Openly Carries Guns In Celebration

Marty Nelson, from Greenwood, left, follows behind Tony Asher, from Lincoln, who wears a Colt .45 cal pistol on his hip, while participating in a walk along North Thompson Street in Springdale celebrating a new state law, passed on August 16, legalizing open carry of firearms in Arkansas, on Saturday November 23, 2013. Several dozen gun rights supporters joined Northwest Carry, a group associated with Arkansas Carry, in walking a few blocks while openly wearing handguns.
Marty Nelson, from Greenwood, left, follows behind Tony Asher, from Lincoln, who wears a Colt .45 cal pistol on his hip, while participating in a walk along North Thompson Street in Springdale celebrating a new state law, passed on August 16, legalizing open carry of firearms in Arkansas, on Saturday November 23, 2013. Several dozen gun rights supporters joined Northwest Carry, a group associated with Arkansas Carry, in walking a few blocks while openly wearing handguns.

SPRINGDALE — Tony Asher gave his 16-year-old son, Dalton Asher, his first gun at age 5.

“I think it’s important for him to understand firearms,” said Asher, who’s an administrator for Northwest Carry. “I have six kids and they’ve all been raised around firearms”

Asher and his son were among about 30 people who took part in a “celebration walk” while openly carrying handguns Saturday to support a new law legalizing open carry in Arkansas.

The event was hosted by Northwest Carry, a gun-rights group affiliated with Arkansas Carry.

According to its website, Arkansas Carry is a group “dedicated to expanding the right-to-carry in Arkansas.”

At A Glance

Arkansas Gun Laws

"A person commits the offense of carrying a weapon if he or she possesses a handgun, knife, or club on or about his or her person, in a vehicle occupied by him or her, or otherwise readily available for use with a purpose to attempt to unlawfully employ the handgun, knife, or club as a weapon against a person.”

State law also allows a college employee who has a concealed handgun license to carry the gun on a campus where the governing body does not have a policy forbidding it.

Correction: A previous version of this story contained an outdated portion of state law. The error has been corrected.

“I think it’s important for people to realize that the Second Amendment belongs to all citizens,” said J.P. Horsley, spokeswoman of Northwest Carry. “The right to keep and bear arms doesn’t just pertain to hunting.”

Saturday’s walk started at Neal’s Cafe, 806 N. Thompson St. in Springdale. Participants walked to Huntsville Avenue and met back at Neal’s Cafe for lunch.

“I’m very pleased with today’s turnout, especially considering the weather,” Horsley said.

Saturday was mostly cloudy and with 20 mph wind gusts and a high temperature of 38 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Horsley said she notified Springdale police prior to Saturday’s event.

Two police officers followed the group on bicycles.

Officer John Mackey said the added patrol was to ensure people’s safety.

“Drivers by might see people carrying guns and call the police,” he said. “If they see that the police are already here, they won’t call.”

Mackey said participants of Saturday’s walk were peaceful and didn’t cause any problems.

Carl Martin, a member of Northwest Carry, said Saturday’s event wasn’t a demonstration, but a chance to educate the community.

“We’re not here to scare people and we’re not criminals,” he said. “This is a celebration.”

According to John Threet, Washington County prosecutor, Act 746, which the Legislature passed Aug. 16, makes it legal for people in Arkansas to openly carry handguns in public places, other than schools and airports. Threet said it’s a misdemeanor offense if a person “attempts to unlawfully employ the weapon.”

“Having a gun and no other evidence or circumstance of anything else whatsoever is not a misdemeanor violation of the law after legislators changed the law,” he said. “But, that doesn’t mean every prosecutor agrees.”

State Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale, the new open carry law is open to interpretation.

“It’s one of those bills where you have attorneys that have different opinions on it,” he said. “Some states have rural open carry, some have no form of open carry and some have inter-city open carry laws. Each law has its own challenges.”

Woods said he supports Northwest Carry for “expressing their freedom of the Second Amendment.”

Ladd Everitt, communication director for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, said open carry groups, such as Northwest Carry, are sending the wrong message.

“My thought is that they’re sending a message that if you push gun laws too far, we’ll use force,” he said.

Everitt said while the law still prevents felons from purchasing guns, it doesn’t require a permit from other people to buy guns.

“We live in an era of mass shootings and grotesque violence that happens randomly and anywhere,” he said. “When you see someone marching down your street carrying a weapon, you don’t know anything about them and law enforcement doesn’t know anything about them. They don’t have to be screened until they commit a crime and that’s not a safe situation.”

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