The Arkansas Legislative Council on Friday authorized a study of the state’s firearms and concealed-carry laws with the aim of making the laws simpler and more understandable during the 2025 regular session.
The study will be conducted by the Legislative Council’s Game and Fish/State Police Subcommittee, and the Legislative Council’s Executive Subcommittee will make final recommendations to the Legislative Council no later than the council’s meeting in December under the study authorized Friday.
During Friday’s Legislative Council meeting, State Rep. Cindy Crawford, R-Fort Smith, questioned the reasons for the study of the laws.
Legislative Council Co-Chair Jeff Wardlaw, R-Hermitage, explained there were a lot of concerns expressed about the state’s convoluted and conflicting gun laws during the Game and Fish/State Police Subcommittee’s meeting July 17, “so I think it is important that the subcommittee use the next year and a half to go through all of our gun laws in the state and simplify that and make it more accessible and easier for the common man of Arkansas to understand it.”
He said Attorney General Tim Griffin “is also feeling the same way,” with a number of state lawmakers seeking advisory opinions from the attorney general’s office, and he put together a working group as well.
The Legislative Council and attorney general’s office will work together to make sure this is fixed for the people of Arkansas, Wardlaw said.
During the Game and Fish/State Police Subcommittee’s July 17 meeting, firearms instructors and law enforcement officers called for state officials to assemble a task force to address long-standing confusion surrounding Arkansas gun laws. They suggested state officials form a panel composed of Arkansans from various backgrounds to consider clarifying where and under what conditions gun owners are permitted to carry firearms.
Griffin announced Tuesday he is working with fellow Republicans Legislative Council Co-Chair state Sen. Terry Rice of Waldron, state Senate Majority Whip Ricky Hill of Cabot and state Rep. Howard Beaty of Crossett to make recommendations to simplify the state’s gun laws.
Griffin pointed out Tuesday that state leaders have requested two dozen opinions about Arkansas’ gun laws over the past decade because they are too complicated and unnecessarily confusing, and that there is no reason why the state can’t have gun laws that make sense without seeking the advice of a lawyer.
After the Legislative Council’s meeting Friday, Griffin said in a written statement that “I treasure my relationship with the legislature and work very closely with legislators constantly.
“I am excited about working with them on this matter to simplify and improve our gun laws for the benefit of all Arkansans,” the Republican attorney general said.
Under the study authorized by the Legislative Council, its Game and Fish/State Police Subcommittee will be required to file with its Executive Subcommittee a final written report of its activities, findings and recommendations, including any draft legislation, on or before Oct. 1, 2024.
Then, the Legislative Council’s Executive Subcommittee will review and consider the findings and recommendations of the report and make a final recommendation to the Legislative Council no later than the December 2024 meeting of the Legislative Council.
The Game and Fish/State Police Subcommittee’s co-chairs are state Rep. Josh Miller, R-Heber Springs and Hill, and the subcommittee’s vice chairs are state Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, and state Rep. Jack Fortner, R-Yellville.
Under the study authorized by the Legislative Council, the Game and Fish/State Police Subcommittee will be required to study issues related to concealed-carry statutes and rules, including:
Review of clarity in the laws and rules concerning enhanced concealed-carry licenses, including who may carry a concealed-carry handgun and restrictions on where a concealed handgun may be carried.
Requirements in place for concealed-carry instructors, including marksmanship requirements.
Act 777 of 2023, sponsored by King and signed into law by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, aims to specify that a license is not required to carry a concealed handgun in Arkansas and became effective Aug. 1.
King has said the act indicates the state only offers concealed-carry licenses to provide residents with the certification they need to carry concealed handguns in states where permits are required.
Act 777 of 2023 is not intended to apply to “enhanced” concealed-carry licenses, according to King. Some legal experts have disagreed, saying the act could be interpreted as applying to these licenses, since statutes concerning “enhanced” concealed-carry licenses are included in the subchapter amended by Act 777.
Griffin has said that permitless concealed carry is legal in Arkansas, but gun owners will still need an “enhanced” concealed-carry license to carry concealed handguns in sensitive areas under Act 777.
As part of its study, the Legislative Council’s Game and Fish/State Police Subcommittee also will be required to study state and federal laws governing gun possession and the interaction of those various laws, and determine the proper entity to provide advice and guidance to the Arkansas State Police regarding possible discrepancies in the laws related to firearms.
In addition, the subcommittee will be required to study issues related to firearms instructors, including:
Review of uniformity regarding the qualifications to become a firearms instructor in the state, including the level of understanding and knowledge of state and federal laws related to firearms.
Accountability for firearms instructors following initial certification, including continuing education requirements.
Enforcement and oversight of Arkansas State Police rules pertaining to firearms instructors.