In the U.S., inspite of what statists may desire, everything is lawful unless there is a law against it.
The original language was this:
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 employ the handgun, knife, or club as a weapon against a person.
The new language is this. Bold added to make the change stand out:
SECTION 2.
5-73-120.
Carrying a weapon.
(a) Arkansas Code § 5-73-120 is amended to read as follows: 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.
This change clarifies the meaning of the law to what was likely the original intent; that a person may not carry a weapon with the intent of using it for unlawful purposes. There does not appear to be other Arkansas law that forbids the carrying of weapons (except in certain named locations). Therefore it appears that Arkansas will have Constitutional carry.
Actually - that part was simply to shift the burden of proof of “criminal intent” to the police/state. Before, possession of a handgun without a CCW could be considered having “intent” period.
The big part of this legislation was the defining of “journey” from very long-standing existing law. The previous law regarding carrying of weapons stated that one could carry when “on a journey”. A journey had been interpreted many ways - from “50+ miles” to completely ignoring the old law (some even claimed it was repealed with the original Concealed Carry law - but it wasn’t). Without a firm definition of “journey” - the old law was ignored and folks were arrested for open carrying.
Now - the term “journey” is specifically defined as “traveling beyond your county or residence”. The only question now - does that mean you can only open carry when in your vehicle or otherwise actively engaged in the traveling, or can you carry the entire time you are “on the journey” - from the time you leave your home to the time you return....???
What I find hilarious - the bill passed both houses with near unanimous support and the governor signed it without a word.