Altes Outsmarts Beebe and Carter

Fort Smith Republican Representative Denny Altes has had his ups and downs during his legislative career, but he goes out with a bang, if you will pardon the pun, with Act 746.    It appears that Gov. Mike Beebe and House Speaker Davy Carter did not understand the full significance of the bill that became Act 746 when it was going through.   If they had, they would have stopped it, much like Carter acted to stop a much more timid gun bill (permitted concealed carry holders would not get in trouble even if their gun was showing).

Act 746 defines what constitutes a "journey" under existing gun laws, and specifies that one can carry a hand gun on a journey as long as one does not intend to use it on a person unlawfully.   Prior to the act, even the use of a gun in self-defense in these circumstances could be considered a crime.  

A plain reading of the law is that it is now legal to carry a handgun for self-dense if one is going to "journey" outside of one's home county.   No permit is needed for this by the letter of the law, nor does the law restrict the gun to a vehicle.

Nic Horton has more details on the Arkansas Project.   That includes how the Beebe administration is twisting and claiming the new law does not change much.   They may find a crooked judge willing to rule that way, or they may not.   The law says what it says.  Congratulations to Rep. Altes.