Arkansas: Anti-Gun SB 724 Passes House and Headed Back to Senate for Concurrence

Unfortunately, the Arkansas House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 724 today with a 71-20 vote. 

SB 724 now moves back to the Senate for concurrence. Please contact your State Senator and urge them to OPPOSE all efforts to bring SB 724 for a floor vote to concur on the House amendment, and to vote AGAINST concurrence.

SB 724 would undermine some of the key concealed carry advancements made with the recent passage and enactment of House Bill 1249, which was signed by Governor Asa Hutchinson on March 23 as Act 562.  This bill would amend several sections of Act 562 by adding public teaching hospitals and college sporting events to the list of places where licensees with the enhanced carry permit would still be prohibited from carrying.  Prohibited places would be able to employ vague prohibited postings, with the consequence of everyday concealed carry permit holders being charged with a class A misdemeanor. 

SB 724 presents problems for law-abiding gun owners in Arkansas by allowing any “collegiate athletic event,” to simply designate “firearm-sensitive areas” to prohibit carry.   This language is so broad, that it may encompass an entire campus and creates a trap to ensnare law-abiding gun owners, who are simply trying to provide for their own personal safety. 

Stay tuned to www.nraila.org and your email inbox for further updates on this bill.