031 The First Gun

Jimmy finished the interview, stood up to see Jessica and the cameraman off, and when he returned, the chief had already returned to his office.

"Jimmy, good job, you saved a life. There were no surprises during the interview, right?"

"I think it was all right. There was a bit of danger, Jessica tried to guide me into discussing racial issues among the police in the station, but I noticed it."

"Very good, smart kid. Go home and rest, and wait for tomorrow's newspaper."

Jimmy left the police station and headed home, bought a pizza for dinner, and continued to laze around at home like a salted fish.

The next day, Jimmy got to the police station early; a newspaper was already laid out at the front desk. Jimmy picked it up and scanned the pages. On the open page, there were side-by-side photos of Jimmy in plainclothes and in his police uniform, followed by a description of the rescue process.

"Jimmy, you look handsome in the newspaper photos," Amy joked as she passed by; Jimmy shrugged and placed the newspaper back on the front desk.

Chief James came out of his office, clapped his hands, "Everyone, our Jimmy saved a person from a fire the evening before last and he wasn't injured at all. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette came to interview yesterday, and it's already in today's paper. Let's congratulate Jimmy."

A group of people applauded and cheered, just in time for the shift change, so there were a few more people around in the police station.

"Thank you, thank you, everyone," Jimmy responded with a smile and then headed to the rest room to change his gear.

After changing gears, Jimmy set out to continue patrolling. The visibility during the day was slightly better than at night. He now stayed well away from the jurisdiction of both city and county police offices, roaming near highways and small villages, ensuring he could quickly respond to any dispatch center notifications while carrying out his normal duties.

At noon, Jimmy returned to town, visited a gun shop where he had previously practiced at a shooting range; today he had decided to buy a gun.

Upon arriving at the gun store, the manager, having been contacted beforehand, promptly had the necessary forms prepared for Jimmy. Jimmy sat down to deal with the paperwork, filled out a gun purchase application and background check form, handed them to the manager, and left. Since he was an active-duty police officer, the manager only needed to verify the information with the county police by the afternoon, and then Jimmy could simply swipe his card and pick up the gun.

Jimmy found a small restaurant on the roadside to have lunch, then found a shady spot off the road to rest for a while; of course, he didn't fall asleep, just rested his mind for a bit. The habit of napping at noon had been formed when he was in the fire department; it hadn't come up much in the States.

In the afternoon, he continued patrolling, issued warnings, wrote tickets, and even helped a driver push their car off the roadway. The unlucky driver's vehicle had broken down in the middle of the road and then crashed into the central barrier, occupying two of the four lanes and blocking traffic.

The protective bar in front of American police cars is called a Pushing Bar. You can understand its function from the name.

Jimmy used the patrol car to push the broken-down vehicle to the roadside, cleaned up larger pieces of debris and fragments of the barrier from the road, and restored traffic flow. As for the unlucky driver, Jimmy had already reported the incident to the dispatch center via radio; a tow truck would come to haul the vehicle away, and someone would indeed trouble him about the damaged barrier.

After receiving a call from the manager, Jimmy happily returned to buy his first gun, an S&W M686-1, with a long barrel, six chambers, a silver-white barrel, and a reddish wood grip. The manager also gifted him a box of ammunition; Jimmy bought two speed loaders, concluding his gun purchase.

He returned to the police station with his new gun, went to the equipment room to register the gun, and then listed it as his backup gun. After getting the confirmation slip, he went to the chief for a signature, then returned it to the equipment room, a process seamlessly completed.

Of course, the process of buying a gun seemed simple for Jimmy, mainly because he was a police officer, which brought many conveniences.

Arkansas is one of the southern states with relatively lax gun control. There is no need to take a gun license test in advance.

If purchasing a handgun or shotgun just to keep at home, not to carry, you just need to fill out forms and undergo a background check at the time of purchase, handguns require age 21 or older, shotguns and rifles 18 or older.

If you need to carry firearms for hunting, a hunting license is required. You can apply for a hunting license for just a few dollars, not much trouble.

If you just need to move the firearm while changing residences, there's no need for a permit; you only have to ensure the separation of guns and ammunition.

Carrying a handgun openly in Arkansas is controversial, and there is no final legal interpretation yet. However, for safety and convenience, it is best to apply for a Concealed Carry License (CCW). Getting a CCW is not easy; it requires registering at the police station, background checks, attending academy lessons on firearm use and safety regulations, and completing a firearms shooting training course, and you can't have any significant criminal history during the background checks.

Arkansas's CCW is not recognized nationwide; it is generally accepted in southern and central states, but not by some states on the East and West Coasts. Carrying a handgun there would be illegal.

Additionally, these procedures primarily apply to American citizens and green card holders. For foreigners with student or work visas, the steps are more extensive, but compared to blue states like California and New York State, Arkansas has high tolerance for non-US citizens possessing firearms. You just need to have lived in the state for more than three months with a valid state driver's license or state ID or valid identification document like an I-94/visa to apply at a gun store. However, because of the background check, the process could take a while, possibly from a week to a month or more, with lower priority.

It's not recommended for international students as most of them live on campus, and almost all universities in Arkansas are gun-free zones.

Jimmy's occupation as a police officer granted him the privilege to carry a firearm and a concealed weapon, meaning he did not need to apply for a concealed carry license. Arkansas regulations permit police officers to carry firearms off duty, so his police badge effectively acted like a permanent concealed carry license. However, a police officer's sidearm must be either personally purchased or issued by the police department.

As a policeman, he had comprehensive background check details that allowed him to bypass the usual checks when buying firearms. Police officers also have completed firearms training and safety courses, saving him considerable time.

So Jimmy was able to fill out the forms at the gun shop at noon and pick up his firearm in the afternoon, while usually, this process would take at least 3-5 working days, or even longer.