Rep. Josh Miller, R-Heber Springs, presents the final recommendations from a year-long study regarding Arkansas’ firearm policies on Oct. 17, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)
A legislative panel on Thursday accepted a report on proposed gun legislation and forwarded it to the Arkansas Legislative Council for final approval Friday.
Lawmakers on the ALC’s Game & Fish/State Police Subcommittee have spent more than a year working toward clearer and more concise firearm-related policies. The recommendations included in Thursday’s report are expected to influence bills filed during the 2025 legislative session.
The more than 50-page report includes draft legislation for nine bills. Approval of the report does not enact any laws.
Exhibit B – Final Report Arkansas Firearms and Concealed Carry Study_Final 10072024 (1)
“I believe that we have made some good, solid headway with these recommendations — some good, commonsense things,” subcommittee co-chair Rep. Josh Miller, R-Heber Springs, told his fellow lawmakers Thursday.
Changes under the proposed legislation include moving the state to a single licensing scheme instead of the current two-tier concealed-carry permit system. It would also remove school bus stops from a list of prohibited places where a firearm is allowed and permit adults in Arkansas to carry a firearm near school grounds. Penalties for carrying a firearm inside a school were set at up to $1,000 per offense.
The proposed legislation would also prevent municipalities from enacting firearm restrictions that are stricter than state statutes.
Public comment was offered at several meetings during the discussion process of the study. Though minimal feedback was given at that time, a handful of gun-safety activists and firearm advocates spoke before lawmakers at a September meeting as the study was nearing its close.
The process of approving the study’s policy recommendations was delayed a few weeks as lawmakers recently requested revisions for clearer language and punctuation in their proposals.
According to Everytown Research and Policy, an organization that advocates for stricter gun laws in the country through various groups like Moms Demand Action, Arkansas has the weakest gun laws in the country. Arkansas also tracks one of the highest gun violence rates of nearly 22 deaths per 100,000 residents; the national average rate is about 14 deaths.
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