Chapter 32: The First Gun

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Jimmy finished the interview, rose, and saw Jessica and the cameraman out. By the time he returned, the chief had already gone back to his office.

“Jimmy, well done. You saved a life. There weren’t any surprises during the interview, were there?”

“I don’t think there were any problems. Things got a little dangerous for a moment. Jessica tried to steer me toward the issue of racial discrimination among the police officers, but I caught on.”

“Excellent. Smart boy. Go home and get some rest. Then wait for tomorrow’s newspaper.”

Jimmy left the police station and went home. He bought a pizza for dinner on the way and continued lounging around the house like a salted fish.

The next morning, Jimmy arrived at the station early. A newspaper had already been spread out on the reception desk. He picked it up and looked through it. On the open page, a photograph of Jimmy in plainclothes stood beside a photograph of a police officer, with an account of the rescue printed below.

“Jimmy, you look pretty handsome in the newspaper,” Amy teased as she passed by.

Jimmy shrugged and put the paper back on the desk.

Chief James came out of his office and clapped his hands. “Everyone, our Jimmy rescued someone from a burning building the night before last without suffering so much as a scratch. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette came to interview him yesterday, and the story is in today’s paper. Let’s congratulate Jimmy.”

A crowd broke into applause and cheers. It happened to be shift-change time, so there were more people than usual in the station.

“Thank you, thank you, everyone,” Jimmy said with a smile. Then he headed to the locker room to change into his gear.

Once he had changed, Jimmy set out to continue his patrol. Daytime patrols offered slightly better visibility than nighttime ones. By then, he was generally far from the jurisdictions of all the city and rural police departments, driving only along the highways and near a few small towns. While carrying out his regular duties, he also made sure he could respond quickly to any dispatches from the communications center.

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At noon, Jimmy returned to town and found the gun store he had contacted earlier at the shooting range. Today was the day he had decided to buy a firearm.

Because he had contacted the store in advance, the owner had already prepared all the necessary paperwork. Jimmy sat down nearby, completed the firearm purchase application and background-check form, handed them to the owner, and left. Since he was an active-duty police officer, all that was needed was for the owner to contact the county police department that afternoon and confirm that everything was in order. After that, Jimmy could simply pay by card and take possession of the gun.

Jimmy found a small restaurant by the roadside and had lunch. Then he returned to the highway, found a shady spot out of the sun, and rested for a while. Of course, he did not fall deeply asleep; he merely dozed long enough to let his mind relax. He had developed the habit of taking a midday break back when he worked for the fire department. The Americans here, however, did not seem to have such a custom.

In the afternoon, he continued patrolling—issuing warnings, writing tickets, and helping a driver push his vehicle out of the traffic lanes. The unlucky driver had broken down in the middle of the road, then struck the median barrier. On the four-lane, two-way highway, his vehicle had ended up sideways, blocking two lanes.

The reinforced bar on the front of an American police cruiser is called a pushing bar. Its purpose can be understood from the name itself.

Jimmy used his patrol car to push the disabled vehicle to the side of the road. He cleared away the larger pieces of debris and chunks of the damaged barrier, restoring the flow of traffic. As for the unfortunate driver, Jimmy had already reported him to the communications center over the radio. A tow truck would come to remove his vehicle, and someone would also be contacting him about the damaged median barrier.

After receiving a call from the store owner, Jimmy happily returned to purchase his first firearm: a Smith & Wesson Model 686-1, with a long barrel, six-round cylinder, silver-colored barrel, and reddish-brown wooden grips. The owner even gave him a box of ammunition. Jimmy bought two speedloaders, bringing the purchase to a close.

He took the gun back to the police station and went to the equipment room to register its serial number. He then registered it as his backup weapon. After receiving the confirmation form, he took it to the chief for a signature and returned it to the equipment room. The entire process was complete.

Of course, Jimmy’s gun-buying process appeared very simple mainly because he was a police officer, a profession that brought him many conveniences.

Arkansas was a relatively permissive Southern state when it came to firearms. There was no need to obtain a firearms license in advance.

If a handgun or hunting firearm was merely being kept at home rather than carried outside, the buyer generally only needed to fill out the paperwork and undergo a background check at the time of purchase. Handgun buyers had to be at least twenty-one years old, while buyers of hunting guns, shotguns, and rifles had to be at least eighteen.

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If someone wanted to carry a firearm while going hunting, a hunting license was required. It could be obtained simply by applying, and cost only a few dozen dollars. The process was not troublesome.

If someone was merely transporting a firearm, such as when moving to a new residence, no license was required. The only requirement was that the firearm and ammunition be stored separately.

Carrying a handgun outside was more complicated. Open carry in Arkansas was controversial, and the law had not yet been conclusively interpreted. For the sake of safety and convenience, it was best to apply for a concealed-carry license or permit, commonly known as a CCW.

Obtaining a concealed-carry permit was not easy. Applicants had to register with the police department, undergo a background check, attend classes on firearm use and various safety regulations, and complete a firearms training course. The background check could not reveal any criminal record more serious than a minor offense.

An Arkansas concealed-carry permit was not valid throughout the entire United States. Most Southern and central states recognized it, but some states along the East and West Coasts did not. Carrying a handgun into those states would constitute a violation of the law.

The procedures described above mainly applied to American citizens and green-card holders. For non-Americans holding student or work visas, there were additional steps. Compared with blue states such as California and New York, Arkansas was relatively tolerant of non-Americans possessing firearms. A person only needed to have lived steadily in the state for more than three months and possess a state driver’s license, state identification card, or valid immigration document such as an I-94 or visa before going to a gun store to fill out the application.

Because of the background check, however, the process took longer. It might be completed in a week in the best case, but could take half a month or even a full month. Such applications were given relatively low priority.

International students were generally advised not to apply, since most lived on campus, and nearly all schools in Arkansas were gun-free zones.

Jimmy was a police officer. While serving in that capacity, his police credentials authorized him to carry a firearm and to carry one concealed. In other words, he did not need to apply for a concealed-carry permit. Arkansas law allowed police officers to remain armed even when off duty, so a police badge was effectively equivalent to a concealed-carry permit with permanent validity. The officer’s firearm, however, had to be either personally purchased or issued by the police department.

As a police officer, Jimmy had comprehensive background-check records that allowed him to bypass the investigation normally required when purchasing a firearm. Police officers also completed firearms and safety training, which saved him a considerable amount of time.

That was why Jimmy could fill out the paperwork at the gun store at noon, pay for the weapon, and take it home that afternoon. Under normal circumstances, the process would have taken at least three to five business days, and possibly longer.

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