Charge Dismissed in Lonoke County Open Carry Case

LONOKE COUNTY, AR - The charge was dismissed in the case of a man who was cited in 2014 after he was seen openly carrying a firearm in a Walmart in Cabot, according to the Lonoke County Prosecutor's Office.

The prosecutor's office decided not to continue the case against Derrick Brown after he appealed his citation to the Lonoke County Circuit Court, officials said.

In the summer of 2014, Brown was inside a Cabot Walmart openly carrying a firearm, police said. Another customer called 911 after seeing his gun openly displayed, and the Cabot Police Department responded, citing Brown, authorities said.

The issue of open carry has caused confusion since Act 746 became law in 2013. The law was touted as a "clean up language bill" by sponsoring lawmakers.

Act 746 was presented by former Rep. Denny Altes, now the state's Drug Director, as basically a clean up bill to define a journey in legal language concerning carrying a firearm. But the word "unlawfully" was also added to the law.

Now, the law reads that it is basically unlawful to carry a weapon if the person is carrying it with the intent to unlawfully use it against another person.

In 2015, various law enforcement agencies around Arkansas said that they won't arrest someone simply for openly carrying a firearm. This has added further confusion to the issue.

At the time of Brown's citation., law enforcement was operating under the guidance of former Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's opinion that open carry was illegal in The Natural State.

Since Brown's citation, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has taken office, and legislators have sought an updated opinion from her on open carry.

As of August 3, Rutledge has not yet issued an official opinion on open carry.

Quoted:
It's great for the guy that was charged, but there is going to have to be a case that gets tried in court (likely appealed all the way to the state SC) before we get some precedent case law established and get this shit cleared up.

Quoted:
Or, the legislature could repeal all of that stupidity and just honor our State constitution on this matter and all of this goofiness instantly evaporates.

Quoted:

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HEY BAMA

You seem to be pretty in tune to the politics, so I'm curious what you think about this:

Knowing that AGs seem to always run for Gov, do you think this will affect Rutledge's opinion on the new law?  You think this is why it's taking so long?  Constructing a 'trap door' she can escape through if her opinion proves unpopular?

Quoted:
Or, the legislature could repeal all of that stupidity and just honor our State constitution on this matter and all of this goofiness instantly evaporates.