Ordinance No. 21.

    Entitled an Ordinance making it a misdemeanor to carry weapons within the corporate limits of Green Forest, prescribing penalty.

Be it ordained by the town council of the Incorporated town of Green Forest, Arkansas:
    Section 1. Any person who shall wear or carry in any manner whatever as a weapon any dirk or bowie knife, or sword, or spear in a cane, brass or metal knucks, razor or any pistol of any kind whatever, except such pistols as are used in the army or navy of the United States, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Provided, officers whose duties require them to make arrests, or to keep and guard persons, together with the persons summoned by such officers to aid them in the discharge of such duties, while actually engaged in such duties, are exempted from the provisions of this ordinance. Provided further, nothing in this ordinance be so construed as to prohibit any person from carrying any weapon when upon a journey or upon his own premises.
    Sec. 2. Any person, excepting such officers or persons on a jounrey and on their premises, as are mentioned in Section 1 of this ordinance, who shall wear or carry any such pistol as is used in the army or navy of the United States, in any manner except uncovered and in his hand, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
    Sec. 3. Any person who shall sell, barter or exchange, or otherwise dispose of, or in any manner furnish to any person any dirk or bowie knife, or sword or spear in any cane, brass or metal knucks, or any pistol of any kind whatever, except such as are used in the army or navy of the United States, and known as the navy pistol, or any cartridge for any pistol, or any person who shall keep any such arms or cartridges for sale, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
    Sec. 4. Any person convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be punished by fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars.
    Sec. 5. Any officer within and for the corporation whose duties it is to make arrest, who may have personal knowledge of any person carrying arms contrary to the provisions of this ordinance, and shall fail or refuse to arrest such person and bring him to trial, shall be punished as provided in section four.
    Sec. 6. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage, approval and publication.

Approved May 3, 1899.
Attest A. J. RUSSELL, Mayor.
H. P. BURNEY, Recorder Protem.

Full Text: 1899, Green Forest, AR, Green Forest Tribune, Ordinance 21

“Ordinance 21.” The Green Forest Tribune, May 11, 1899, p. 1. Ordinance 21—An Ordinance making it a misdemeanor to carry weapons within the corporate limits of Green Forest, prescribing penalty, §§ 1-6. Approved May 3, 1899. Volume 10, Number 3. (Green Forest, Arkansas).

“ACT 80.

‘AN ACT Relating to Machine Guns, and to Make Uniform the Law With Reference Thereto.’

Be It Enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas;

SECTION 1. ‘Machine Gun’ applies to and includes a weapon of any description by whatever name known, loaded or unloaded, from which more than five shots or bullets may be rapidly, or automatically, or semi-automatically discharged from a magazine, by a single function of the firing device. ‘Crime of Violence’ applies to and includes any of the following crimes or an attempt to commit any of the same, namely, murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, rape, mayhem, assault to do great bodily harm, robbery, burglary, housebreaking, breaking and entering, and larceny.

‘Person’ applies to and includes firm, partnership, association or corporation.

SECTION 2. Possession or use of a machine gun in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of a crime of violence is hereby declared to be a crime punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a term of (not less than twenty years).

SECTION 3. Possession or use of a machine gun for offensive or agressive purpose is hereby declared to be a crime punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a term of (not less than ten years).

SECTION 4. Possession or use of a machine gun shall be presumed to be for offensive or aggressive purpose;

(a) when the machine gun is on premises not owned or rented, for bona fide permanent residence or business occupancy, by the person in whose possession the machine gun may be found; or

(b) when in the possession of, or used by, an unnaturalized foreign-born person, or a person who has been convicted of a crime of violence in any court of record, state or federal, of the United States of America, its territories or insular possessions; or

(c) when the machine gun is of the kind described in Section 8 and has not been registered as in said section required; or

(d) when empty or loaded pistol shells of 30 (.30 in. or 7.63 mm.) or larger caliber which have been or are susceptible of use in the machine gun are found in the immediate vicinity thereof.

SECTION 5. The presence of a machine gun in any room, boat, or vehicle shall be evidence of the possession or use of the machine gun by each person occupying the room, boat, or vehicle where the weapon is found.

SECTION 6. Nothing contained in this act shall prohibit or interfere with

1. the manufacture for, and sale of, machine guns to the military forces or the peace officers of the United States or of any political subdivision thereof, or the transportation required for that purpose;
2. the possession of a machine gun for scientific purpose, or the possession of a machine gun not usable as a weapon and possessed as a curiosity, ornament, or keepsake;
3. the possession of a machine gun other than one adapted to use pistol cartridges of 30 (.30 in. or 7.63 mm.) or larger caliber, for a purpose manifestly not aggressive or offensive.

SECTION 7. Every manufacturer shall keep a register of all machine guns manufactured or handled by him. This register shall show the model and serial number, date of manufacture, sale, loan, gift, delivery or receipt, of every machine gun, the name, address, and occupation of the person to whom the machine gun was sold, loaned, given, or delivered, or from whom it was received; and the purpose for which it was acquired by the person to whom the machine gun was sold, loaned, given or delivered, or from whom received. Upon demand every manufacturer shall permit any marshal, sheriff or police officer to inspect his entire stock of machine guns, parts, and supplies therefor, and shall produce the register, herein required, for inspection. A violation of any provision of this section shall be punishable by a fine of (not less than …….hundred dollars).[1]

SECTION 8. Every machine gun now in this State adapted to use pistol cartridges of 30 (.30 in. or 7.63 mm.) or larger caliber shall be registered in the office of the (Secretary of state), on the effective date of this act, and annually thereafter. If acquired hereafter it shall be registered within 24 hours after its acquisition. Blanks for registration shall be prepared by the (secretary of state), and furnished upon application. To comply with this section the application as filed must show the model and serial number of the gun, the name, address and occupation of the person in possession, and from whom and the purpose for which the gun was acquired. The registration data shall not be subject to inspection by the public. Any person failing to register any gun as required by this section, shall be presumed to possess the same for offensive or aggressive purpose.

SECTION 9. Warrant to search any house or place and seize any machine gun adapted to use pistol cartridges of 30 (.30 in. or 7.63 mm.) or larger caliber possessed in violation of this act, may issue in the same manner and under the same restrictions as provided by law for stolen property, and any court of record upon application of the (district attorney), shall have jurisdiction and power to order any machine gun, thus or otherwise legally seized, to be confiscated and either destroyed or delivered to a peace officer of the State or a political subdivision thereof.

SECTION 10. If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are declared to be severable.

SECTION 11. This act shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it.

SECTION 12. This act may be cited as the Uniform Machine Gun Act.

SECTION 13. All acts or parts of acts which are inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

SECTION 14. WHEREAS, under the present law of the state of Arkansas the officers of the state are powerless to effectively combat crime, therefore, it being necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is hereby declared, and this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval.”

Full Text (Subscription Required):  Hein

[1] This is exactly how it is written in the original text, and there is no explanation or footnote.

Acts Concurrent Resolutions, Memorials and Proposed Constitutional Amendments of the Fiftieth General Assembly of the State of Arkansas Passed at the Regular Session Held at the Capitol in the City of Little Rock, Arkansas, Convening on the 14th Day of January, 1935, and Adjourning on the 14th Day of March, 1935  Little Rock: AR: Democrat Printing & Litho. Co., 1935), 171-175. Act 80—An Act Relating to Machine Guns, and to Make Uniform the Law With Reference Thereto, §§ 1-14. Approved February 26, 1935.

        “SECTION 1. It shall be unlawful for any person or persons in any manner to transport from one place to another in this State, or for any railroad company, or express company, or other common carrier, or any officer, agent; or employee of any of them, or any other person acting in their behalf knowingly to ship or to transport from one place to another in this State in any manner or by any means whatsoever, except as hereinafter provided, any firearm of the type com­monly known as a machine gun.
        SECTION 2. It shall be unlawful for any person to store, keep, possess, or have in possession, or permit another to store, keep, possess, or have in possession, except as hereinafter provided, any firearm of the type commonly known as a machine-gun.
        SECTION 3. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, or give away, or be interested directly or indirectly, in the sale or giving away, of any firearm of the type commonly known as a machine-gun.
        SECTION 4. Provided, this Act shall not apply to the military authorities of the State or nation, and provided further, that any peace officer of the State, counties or political subdivision thereof, may possess ma­chine-guns when required in the performance of their duties. After April 1, 1931, every person permitted by this Act to possess a machine-gun, shall file in the office of the Secretary of State, on a blank to be supplied by the Secretary of State, an application to be properly sworn to, which shall include his name and address, and the serial number of the machine-gun which he desires to possess. Thereupon, the Secretary of State shall file such application, in his office, registering such officer in a book or index to be kept for that purpose, and assign to him a number, and issue to him a card, which he shall keep with him while he has such machine-gun in his possession. Such registration shall be made on the date application is received and filed with the Secretary of State, and shall expire on December 31, of the year in which said license is issued.
        SECTION 5. Any person violating any part of this law shall upon conviction be fined in any sum not more than $1,000.00, and not less than $100.00, and the machine-gun or guns found in his possession shall be confiscated and the title thereof shall pass to the political subdivision of the State making the capture.
        SECTION 6. All laws and parts of laws in conflict herewith are hereby repealed, and whereas criminals are using machine-guns for illegal purposes, this Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, an emergency is here­by declared, and it shall be in force and effect from and after its passage.”

Full Text (Subscription Required): Hein

Acts, Concurrent Resolutions, Memorials and Proposed Constitutional Amendments of the Forty-Eighth General Assembly of the State of Arkansas Passed at the Session Held at the Capitol, in the City of Little Rock, Arkansas, Convening on the 14th Day of January, 1931, and Adjourning on the 14th Day of March, 1931 (Little Rock, AR: Democrat Printing & Litho. Co., 1931), 705-706. Act Number 225—An Act to Prohibit the Possession, Transportation or Sale of Machine Guns, and Inflicting Penalty for Violation Thereof, §§ 1-6. Approved: March 26th, 1931.

Sec. 1. That any person who shall wear or carry any pistol of any kind whatever, or any dirk, butcher or bowie knife, or a sword or a spear in a cane, brass or metal knucks, or razor, as a weapon, shall be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, in the county in which said offense shall have been committed, shall be fined in any sum not less than twenty-give nor more than one hundred dollars, to be recovered by presentment or indictment in the Circuit Court, or before any Justice of the Peace of the county wherein such offense shall have been committed; Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prohibit any person wearing or carrying any weapon aforesaid on his own premises, or to prohibit persons traveling through the country, carrying such weapons while on a journey with their baggage, or to prohibit any officer of the law wearing or carrying such weapons when engaged in the discharge of his official duties, or any person summoned by any such officer to assist in the execution of any legal process, or any private person legally authorized to execute any legal process to him directed.

Sec. 3. No slave or mulatto whatsoever, shall keep or carry a gun, poweder, shot, club or other weapon whatsoever, offensive or defensive; but all and every gun weapon and ammunition found in the possesision or custody of any negro or mulatto, may be seized by any person and upon due proof made before any justice of the peace of the district [county] where such seizure shall be, shall by his order be forfeited to the seizor, for his own use, and moreover, every such offender shall have and receive by order of such justice any num=ber of lashes not exceeding thirty nine on his or her bare back well laid on for every such offense.

It shall be unlawful for any person to shoot any fish with a gun or other instrument in this State. It shall be unlawful for any person or throw, drop or explode any dynamite or other explosive in any of the waters of this State.

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to give away, sell or offer for sale, or to make or manufacture any toy pistol, firecracker—commonly known as a cannon crackers—or gun that shoots a blank cartridge; and it shall be unlawful for any person to receive, own, carry or shoot any such toy pistol, gun or cannon cracker within this State.

Every person and the aiders and abetters of every person who shall draw a pistol, gun or any other deadly weapon upon any other person or shall serve or give notice either verbal or in writing to any other person or shall place notice upon the door or about the premises of any other person for the purpose of frightening or intimidating him from doing any lawful Act, when such person drawing said pistol or gun is not justified in self defense for so doing, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined in a sum not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars and shall be imprisoned in the county jail for twelve months.

[Ordinances of the] City of Hot Springs, §131. That no person shall carry gun powder, giant powder, dynamite, nitro-glycerine or blasting powder on any vehicle in any part of the city, unless the same shall be secured in kegs, boxes or canisters, sufficiently close to prevent the grains thereof from falling out, and be laid upon or covered over with sheets of canvas or other cloth, and such vehicles shall not be allowed to remain on the streets or sidewalks for more than one hour while containing such gun powder or explosives above mentioned. § 132. That it shall be unlawful to erect or build a powder magazine, or a magazine for any of the explosives mentioned in this ordinance, in the city, within three hundred yards of any other building; and, Provided, That in no case shall it be lawful to build or erect any such magazine in the city unless the same be erected in a safe and secure way, and under permission of the council of the city.

Carrying Weapons, § 1909. Any person who shall sell, barter or exchange, or otherwise dispose of, or in any manner furnish to any person, any dirk or bowie knife, or a sword or spear in a cane, brass or metal knucks, or any pistol of any kind whatever, except such as are used in the army or navy of the United States, and known as the navy pistol or any kind of cartridges for any pistol, or any person who shall keep any such arms or cartridges for sale, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

[Ordinances of the] City of Little Rock, [§ 344. That it shall be unlawful for any person to engage in, exercise or pursue any of the following avocations or business without first having obtained and paid for a license therefor from the proper city authorities the amount of which licenses are hereby fixed as follows, to wit: . . . ]§ 27. Shooting galleries, or pistol galleries, $25 per annum, in advance.

Ordinances of the City of Little Rock, § 399. It shall not be lawful for any person to wear under his clothes, or concealed about his person, any pistol or colt, or slung-shot, or cross-knuckles, or knuckles of lead, brass or other metal; or bowie-knife, dirk-knife, or dirk or dagger, or any knife resembling a bowie-knife, or any other dangerous or deadly weapon, within the city of Little Rock; and whoever shall violate this section, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be fined not less than ten dollars nor more than twenty-five dollars, and double that sum for each repetition of such offense or violation.

Any person who shall sell, barter or exchange, or otherwise dispose of, or in any manner furnish to any person any person [sic] any dirk or bowie knife, or a sword or a spear in a cane, brass or metal knucks, or any pistol, of any kind whatever, except such as are used in the army or navy of the United States, and known as the navy pistol, or any kind of cartridge, for any pistol, or any person who shall keep any such arms or cartridges for sale, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

That any person who shall wear or carry, in any manner whatever, as a weapon, any dirk or bowie knife, or a sword, or a spear in a cane, brass or metal knucks, razor, or any pistol of any kind whatever, except such pistols as are used in the army or navy of the United States, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

City Ordinances, § 287. Whenever there shall be found upon the person of any one, who has been found guilty of a breach of the peace, or for conduct calculated to provoke a breach of the peace, any pistol, revolver, bowie-knife, dirk, rifle, shot gun, slung-shot, colt, or knuckles of lead, brass or other metal; or when, upon trial, evidence shall be adduced proving that such weapons were in the possession or on the person of any one while in the act or commission of the act aforesaid, such person shall be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than five hundred dollars, in addition to the penalty for the breach of the peace aforesaid.

[Offenses Affecting the Public Safety, § 288. No person shall fire or discharge any cannon, gun, fowling piece, pistol, or fire-arms, of any description, or fire, explode, or set off any squibs, cracker, or other thing containing powder or other combustible or explosive material, without permission from the may which permission shall limit the time of such firing, and shall be subject to be revoked by the mayor at any time after it has been granted. Any violation hereof shall subject the party to a fine of not less than two nor more than ten dollars.]

§ 12. That when any person or persons shall resent the execution of any civil or criminal process, by threatening, or by actually drawing a pistol, gun, or other deadly weapon, upon the sheriff or other officer authorized to execute such process, such person or persons, for every such resistance, intimidation or offense shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned in the penitentiary for a term not less than one nor more than five years. § 13. That when any person or persons shall draw a pistol, gun, or any other deadly weapon, upon any other person or citizen, for the purpose of frightening or intimidating him or them from doing or attempting to do any lawful act, when such person or persons drawing said pistol, gun, or other deadly weapon, are not justified in self-defense for so doing, shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be fined in a sum not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than one thosand dollars ($1000), and imprisonment in the county jail for twelve months.

Sabbath Breaking. § 1622. If any person shall be found hunting with a gun, with intent to kill game, or shooting for amusement on the Sabbath day, on conviction thereof he shall be fined in any sum not less than five nor more than twenty-five dollars for each separate offense.

Criminal Law. §10. If any person shall be found hunting with a gun, with intent to kill game, or shooting for amusement on the Sabbath day, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on presentment, indictment, and conviction thereof, shall be fined in any sum, not less than five, nor more than twenty-five dollars, for each separate offense.

Negroes and Mulattoes, § 17. No free negro shall be suffered to keep or carry any gun or rifle, or weapon of any kind, or any ammunition without a license first had and obtained, for that purpose, from some justice of the peace of the county in which such free negro or mulatto resides, and such license may be granted and revoked by any justice of the peace of the county. §18. Every gun, rifle, or weapon of any kind, or ammunition, found in the possession or custody of any free negro or mulatto, not having a license as required by the preceding section, may be seized by any person, and upon due proof thereof made before some justice of the peace of the county in which such seizure was made, shall by order of such justice be forfeited to the use of the person making the seizure, and such justice shall also impose a fine on such negro or mulatto, for the use of the county, not exceeding twenty dollars.

Every person who shall wear any pistol, dirk, butcher or large knife, or a sword in a cane, concealed as a weapon, unless upon a journey, shall be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, in the county in which the said offence shall have been committed, shall be fined in any sum not less than twentyfive dollars, nor more than one hundred dollars, one half to be paid into the county treasury, the other half to the informer, and shall also be imprisoned not less than one, nor more than six months.

Slaves, § 23. Any gun or other offensive or defensive weapon found in the possession of a slave, without having the written permission of his master the carry the same, may be seized by any person, and upon proof of such seizure before a justice of the peace of the county where the same shall have been made, such gun or weapon shall be by the order of such justice, adjudged and forfeited to the seizor for his own use, and such slave shall receive by the order of such justice, any number of stripes not exceeding thirty.

Every person who shall wear any pistol, dirk, butcher or large knife, or a sword in a cane, concealed as a weapon, unless upon a journey, shall be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor.