Anna Morshedi with the gun-safety group Moms Demand Action, testifies before Arkansas lawmakers as they discuss proposed firearm policies on Sept. 16, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)
A man whose grandson was killed by gun violence and the owner of a gun range were among the speakers who testified Monday before lawmakers who are considering updating Arkansas gun laws during the 2025 legislative session.
The proposed policy changes from the Arkansas Legislative Council’s Game & Fish/State Police Subcommittee are the culmination of a year-long study to clarify the state’s overlapping and sometimes conflicting firearm laws.
The study was approved last August, and lawmakers expect to present their final recommendations in the coming weeks. Members have reviewed thousands of laws that mentioned guns and developed about a dozen proposed policies.
Draft legislation will be posted online on Sept. 26 for the public to review before the subcommittee’s next meeting on Oct. 3, said co-chair Sen. Ricky Hill, R-Cabot.
Arkansas lawmakers log progress toward firearm-related policy recommendations
The proposed recommendations detail firearm usage while hunting and various features about concealed and open carry. If the Legislature approves the subcommittee’s suggestions without any changes next year, Arkansans would be permitted to carry firearms at school bus stops and near schools.
The school-related policies garnered the most attention Monday from gun-safety activists who shared concerns about 18-year-olds who can purchase their firearms from a private sale being permitted to bring their guns to those locations.
Before public comment began Monday, lawmakers approved two minor changes to proposals that clarified firearms would be allowed inside courthouses, but their presence in the courtroom would be decided by the presiding judge, and amended the definition of “journey” to be more specific about leaving one’s house.
Public input has been available throughout the study process, Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View said, though few people have spoken about the proposed policies.
“I feel like [we] have given wide deference to this being a process that includes public input,” Irvin said. “I want to note that we have not really heard much from the public — by their choice, not by ours.”
Eight people signed up to speak at Monday’s meeting, and six took to the microphone. The first and last speakers both opposed the policy recommendations, and the remaining four spoke in support of them.
Whit Hall (in blue) sits among Arkansans wearing red in support of the gun-safety group Moms Demand Action during a legislative meeting on Sept. 16, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)
Whit Hall, who said he was a long-time hunter and a pediatrician with 50 years of experience, told lawmakers he became a gun violence survivor after his grandson was shot and killed in 2022.
According to the obituary posted by the Roller-Chenal Funeral Home in Little Rock, the 18-year-old died from multiple gunshot wounds “after breaking up a fight.”
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Hall made comparisons of alcohol prohibitions for teenagers to that of guns. He said teenagers’ judgements are oftentimes not good and having guns near schools would make school kids “sitting ducks.”
In response to Hall’s testimony, co-chair Rep. Josh Miller, R-Heber Springs, said, “I think there’s been a misunderstanding that we’re just, you know, going to arm every 18-year-old and send them to school. That’s not what’s happening.”
Nathan House, the owner of Arkansas Armory, a gun store and range in North Little Rock, praised the proposal, but suggested more concise language and grammatical corrections.
House also suggested that business owners who don’t want firearms in their establishment be held liable for the safety of their patrons.
Robert Steinbuch, a columnist and professor at the University of Arkansas William H. Bowen School of Law, speaks in favor of proposed gun legislation at a meeting on Sept. 16, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)
Robert Steinbuch, a columnist and professor at the University of Arkansas William H. Bowen School of Law, also spoke in favor of the proposed policies. Steinbuch complemented a recommendation to limit local governments from enacting laws superseding state law, and suggested lawmakers enact a penalty for cities that violate the policy.
“We need to have some teeth in these laws because the localities thumb our noses and say things like, ‘We’re the independent Republic of Little Rock-istan,’” Steinbuch said. “But the fact is these soviet republics populating our state are thumbing their noses at the legislature over and over again.”
Anna Morshedi, a representative from the gun-safety group Moms Demand Action, spoke against the firearm policy proposals. During a response to a lawmaker who questioned guns as the leading cause of death among children because it could include self-inflicted violence, Morshedi said students without their own firearms but knowledge of classmates’ guns could also be a risk.
“You’re introducing someone who has access to a gun at a school in a parking lot, and if their vehicle is unlocked, and if it’s known that they bring their firearm to school every day — you are now giving someone who is having a moment of suicidal thoughts access to lethal means at school,” Morshedi said.
Moms Demand Action operates under the organization Everytown Research and Policy, which advocates for stricter gun laws in the country through various groups. Morshedi cited statistics from the organization, such as Arkansas’ rank as 50th in the country for gun law strength.
Anna Morshedi with the gun-safety group Moms Demand Action, testifies before Arkansas lawmakers as they discuss proposed firearm policies on Sept. 16, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)
Lawmakers questioned the information Morshedi cited. Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, suggested that Morshedi visit Guatemala, presumably for a comparison to their violence rates, and Morshedi replied that her children go to school in Arkansas, which is why her focus remains in the state.
Co-chair Miller interrupted and stopped the discussion.
When Irvin questioned Morshedi about school bus stops on private property, Morshedi said she believed they should remain as protected gun-free zones because children are often unaccompanied there.
“You’re thinking about a parent protecting their children at the bus stop … compared to now we’re going to allow strangers the legal ability to stand next to your children on your property, if that’s where your bus stop is,” Morshedi said. “It feels very dangerous and vulnerable for the children in my perspective.”
The Arkansas Legislative Council’s Executive Subcommittee will hear a presentation of the proposed gun legislation on Thursday.
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