Arkansas code and travelling

[phaed]

I'll be traveling by car from Georgia to Arizona in a week or so (military Permenant Change of Station). I've looked up the laws governing each state, and Arkansas is the only one I'm still unclear about. I'll be spending some time there visiting family, and then moving on. Unfortunately they don't have reciprocity with Georgia, so I default to their state code which is vague.

Relevant Arkansas State code is as follows:

5-73-120. Carrying a weapon.
(a) 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.

........c) It is a defense to a prosecution under this section that at the time of the act of carrying a weapon:

...................(4) The person is carrying a weapon when upon a journey, unless the journey is through a commercial airport when presenting at the security checkpoint in the airport or is in the person's checked baggage and is not a lawfully declared weapon;

It doesn't seem to specify what is considered concealed (i.e. is the glovebox ok or no?), nor does it specify magazine or chamber loaded status.

I called 2 different Arkansas State Police offices to clarify. One (Little Rock office) told me that the weapon had to be unloaded, disassembled, and locked in the trunk. When I asked them to cite the source of that code so I could carry a copy, they could not, and gave me the run-around. The second office (Jonesboro) said that the law was admittingly vague, and doesn't specify what's concealed, or how they can be loaded. He also said that there were no other laws that he knew of that covered this.

-How would you folks interpret this law?
-Does anyone know any other relevant regulations (besides Federal, of which I'm familiar)?

Thanks for any input.

 

[igpoobah]

You man at ANY time carry unloaded and locked in the trunk. The whole 'journey' thing is vague at best, always has been. But has often been defined as being far enough from home to consider the area you are in as 'unknown'. Certainly you qualify for that.

Another vague point has always been about whether or not the gun can be loaded and ready. Nobody is really sure. A person might infer from the wording that the gun can be loaded, but it doesn't specifically say that....

What I practiced before CCW was to have the gun unloaded, but everything ready to go close by. I don't think I'd want to test those waters. My advice would be to go on the safe side, keep the pistol in plain sight and the mag in the console or something like that. Being that you are from out of state you should have no problems..

But you are right, it's vague as any law out there; including to us Arkansans.

 

[wdlsguy]

If you overnight an application to the Sheriff of Centre County, PA you might get your Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearms before you leave for Arizona...

http://www.co.centre.pa.us/sheriff/license_application.asp

 

[Kim]

This law is a typical Jim Crow era law. They could stick it to you if they wanted to. There is no open carry in Arkansas. Never really was concealed carry before CCW. This was the vague law of it depends on who Bubba cop or politician you know or is your Daddy rich law.

 

[ElZorro]

The "while on a journey portion seems to be nullified

by your planned stay (at least overnight) within Arkansas. This would likely work the same way as 18 USC, 926A, which, by the way, would override Arkansas' law IF your journey was uninterrupted.

Sound like you're stuck with unloaded, locked in the trunk; except it'd have to be OK to have it in the back compartment of a vehicle without a trunk (like a Suburban), provided it wasn't within the driver's reach.

The overnight stay in Arkansas seems to be your Achilles heel in this case.

I'm unclear as to why your question about "concealed". It doesn't seem to enter into it.
ElZorro