Arkansas Game and Fish Ban guns in WMAs

As related in a previous article,
the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission crossed the boundaries of their
law-making power in 1995. In March of 1997, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled the AGFC’s “power
to regulate the manner of taking game certainly does not translate into
a general power to regulate the general possession of all
firearms…” This ruling, however, did not stop the AGFC from enacting
even stricter gun laws.

Memorandum of Cooperation
In recent years, the U.S. Forest Service and the AGFC have entered into a “Memorandum Of Cooperation” between
the two agencies. Under this agreement, the AGFC has agreed to “manage”
the enormous 1.2 million acres of the Ozark National Forest with
Wildlife Management Area regulations. In an email from the law
enforcement department from the AGFC, a representative stated the Ozark
National Forest is “considered WMA, whether it is White Rock, Piney,
Sylamore, Mt. Magazine, or Ozark National Forest WMA.”

It shall be unlawful to hunt, trap or possess a killing device in any wildlife management area



Chicago-style gun ban
Using
this agreement and Wildlife Management Area regulations, the AGFC is
enacting a Chicago-style gun ban in the Ozark National Forest, an
enormous area that encompasses 1.2 million acres of the state. In addition, the entire WMA system covers almost 3.2 million acres total! The pertinent regulation, AGFC Wildlife code 20.01,
reads: “It shall be unlawful to hunt, trap or possess a killing device
in any wildlife management area.” Recently, the Game and Fish
Commission used these WMA regulations to infringe upon individual gun
rights. Arkansas Carry, a gun rights group, planned an “open carry hike” to educate the public about open carry
and the journey law. When the group informed the U.S. Forest Service of
their intentions, they were told all firearms were banned from the White Rock WMA where the hike was planned (it’s important to note here the White Rock WMA web page says one of the management practices consists of “more intensive law enforcement efforts”).

What are your rights?
The people of Arkansas have the right to carry on a journey
in any manner they see fit. These journeys usually take place in a
motorized vehicle, but are not limited to this manner of travel. A
backpacker or person on horseback who chooses to exercise his rights
under Arkansas law can have these rights infringed upon by extreme AGFC
regulations. In addition, the state of Arkansas has no laws
banning the carry of long guns, only handguns. A citizen has the right
under Arkansas law and the “right to bear arms” proclamation in the Arkansas Constitution to carry a long gun in any manner they choose.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is greatly infringing upon the right to self-defense, even worse than in the Murders lawsuit. In an area of the state where protection by law enforcement is at its lowest, the AGFC has enacted laws worthy of praise from the most strident anti-gunners.



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