The Eureka Springs, Arkansas city council had a special meeting on how to deal with a planned open carry/celebrate Act 746 walk in the city. Some of the discussion is disturbing, as a council member openly seems to suggest ways in which to conspire to chill the exercise of the second amendment. The video is 42:40 long on YouTube. The most chilling comments are these, beginning about 22:30:
"What I think I have, I think I have heard you say, that, our only recourse of action is then, is what you are going to do with the signs, which I commend you, our only recourse of action that we can do is shut the town to them. and make it unavailable to them. so that when they get here they cannot eat, they cannot get a cup of coffee, they cannot shop they can't ride the trolley, they cannot take a taxi, about all they can do is walk up and down the street."
"Ok, so what we really need to do then is to have a PR campaign to get all of the business owners on our side on this and to make it clear to them what our plan is, if we decide to do this, and then get the word out, because I think if we can do this and do it effectively, and quite frankly as a PR opportunity here, is a marketers dream, but I am not going to get into that unless you ask me, but we we can then, we are taking point here, then show other communities what they can do to counter act this because we are doing this first."
She appears to be suggesting that the city council use the police to push business leaders to conspire to deny the open carriers use of their facilities. For private individuals to do this is one thing. For the City Council and the Police to do this is using the force of government.
Fortunately, calmer heads prevail, at least on camera. The police chief is to be commended for his fair reading of the law. The Police Chief notes that numerous visitors have already been open carrying in town and that most people never noticed, and nothing happened.
The woman council member on the right side, halfway down, has some real wisdom to put on the table:
"We welcome everyone." "Treat them like anyone else." "They have the right to prove their right."But the council member on the near left, in the baseball cap, has some of the last words:
We don't want this particular group of gun owners who are trying to rub our noses in it.He says he will put a sign on his business. For one day.
Perhaps others can identify the various speakers.
The celebrate Act 746 walk is going forward and will take place on 29 March, 2014.
The Patriots of Act 746 plans to have a constitutional carry/celebrate act 746 walk on March 29th, and to eat lunch in Eureka springs. From carrollconews.com:
The group, Northwest 746, plans to meet near Basin Park and walk around the city, but they will not enter any building or place that prohibits carrying firearms, such as government buildings or private businesses with warning signs, Suchsland said.It appears that Arkansascarry also intends to be in Eureka Springs on the 29th of March. It is likely that a significant number will show up to celebrate their second amendment rights.
The city of Eureka Springs has a population of 2,073. This negative response from a small, rural, Arkansas town that caters to tourists is unusual. Perhaps local second amendment supporters did not know that this was being discussed. There were only 3 days notice from the Monday meeting when this was brought up as new business to the special meeting on Thursday. Only three members of the public spoke, and they were all against open carry, and unsurprisingly, misinformed.
The next City Council meeting will be at 6 p.m. on 9 April:
Regular Council meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month in the City Council Chambers at 44 S. Main and are broadcasted live on Cable Channel 21. Check below for the next meeting.
©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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1 comment:
Wonder of wonders, Eureka Springs survived the open carry 746 celebration and noone was shot. The first city in Arkansas to pass an anti discrimination ordinance should be ashamed to have been scared of honest armed law abiding citizens exercising their second amendment right to keep and BEAR arms.
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