ARK. CAMPUS-CONCEALED CARRY - Proposals to allow concealed handguns on Arkansas public colleges and universities have met resistance in the state legislature for one reason or another. Arkansas House Bill 1249 was approved in the house and expected to sail through the senate but that’s not happened. The bill started out as only allowing those faculty and staff who are licensed to carry handguns, bring them on campus. But the original bill has undergone changes. Republican Sen. Trent Garner of El Dorado is handling the bill in the Senate. Currently, HB-1249 requires public universities to allow faculty, staff, and students who are at least 25 years old and have completed 16 hours of active shooter training, to carry concealed firearms on campus. The additional training requirement has resulted in lost support for the bill. Public university administrators and campus police, who can currently opt out of allowing guns at their institutions, still largely oppose the new campus carry legislation.
