Presidential hopeful's son arrested in Ark. with gun

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - David Huckabee, a son of former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, was arrested on Thursday after trying to board an airliner with a loaded pistol, police said.

Huckabee, 26, was jailed after an X-ray of his carry-on bag revealed the weapon, identified in a police report as a Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol containing eight live rounds of ammunition.

Huckabee appeared later in the day before a municipal judge and pleaded guilty to a charge of carrying a weapon into a prohibited area. He was fined $855, sentenced to a year of supervised probation and ordered to perform 10 days of community service. A one-year jail sentence was suspended.

The report said a policeman asked Huckabee if he knew what was in the carry-on bag. "I do now," Huckabee was quoted as replying.

Huckabee obtained a permit to carry a concealed weapon last year, a spokesman for the Arkansas State Police said.

"It's a pretty common occurrence," said Sgt. Terry Hastings, a spokesman for the Little Rock police. "People with concealed handgun permits forget they have their guns in their bag. It's an honest mistake."

Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said an administrative proceeding to suspend Huckabee's concealed weapon permit had begun.

Huckabee's father, a former Baptist minister, was governor of Arkansas from July 1996 until January. He is now seeking the Republican presidential nomination.