Don't pack that sidearm just yet.
A new state law that allows enhanced carry in previously forbidden places such as bars, churches and college campuses takes effect Sept. 1. But there's a catch: The same law calls for concealed carry permit holders to have enhanced training before taking weapons onto those properties.
The Law: Then and now
A 2013 state law allowed faculty and staff members with concealed-carry permits to bring their weapons on campuses of public colleges and universities, unless the boards of those institutions voted annually to opt out of the law. Every institution opted out each year.
Act 562 of 2017 eliminated that option, but required anyone who carries a gun on college campuses to obtain eight hours of training beyond what is necessary to receive a concealed-carry permit.
Source: Staff report
And that training has yet to be created.
It'll likely be 2018 before any gun-toters can carry on those grounds, college and university leaders said, because Sept. 1 starts the clock -- the countdown of 120 days the Arkansas State Police has to design the enhanced training program.
"Quite frankly, it's going to take every bit of that to get it done," said Bill Sadler, a state police spokesman. "There is a learning curve for the state police to get back into the mindset that this is going to change what has existed since 1992."
Creating rules isn't as easy as it sounds: State police have to decide the do's and don'ts of the enhanced training and educate the current concealed carry license instructors before anyone can even earn the enhancement, he said.
And there are still smaller pieces, including reciprocity agreements that allow concealed carry permit holders who earned the license from another state to carry lawfully in Arkansas, and campus safety assessment plans, which can preclude concealed carry at certain locations.
The 120-day period has left public colleges and universities in a wait-and-see mode for the finalized rules. But it hasn't stopped administrators and general counsel from preparing.
As the fall semester begins, the schools are reminding students, faculty and staff that weapons are still prohibited from dormitories or residence halls and can only be stored in locked, unattended vehicles in a public college or university parking lot.
Northwest Arkansas Community College is working on a communication plan to let people know what the law entails. That will involve social media, email messages and daily announcements, said Teresa Taylor, interim executive director of institutional policy, risk management and compliance. She leads a college task force examining which college policies and procedures need to be changed in response to Act 562.
The task force has met several times since March. Its accomplishments so far include revising the code of student conduct and completing a statement related to weapons on campus.
Faculty and staff continue to ask questions pertaining to the law. There is passion among supporters and opponents of the new law, she said.
"What we want to make sure is we are in compliance," Taylor said.
The law
During the legislative session, leaders of colleges and universities had pushed back against what will be Act 562 of 2017. Still, Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, who sponsored the bill, forged on with his goal of making campuses safer.
Knowing that there are no gun-wielding people at colleges and universities -- except for campus police -- "it almost creates the perfect environment for this type of killer," Collins said, referring to a "rampage killer," whom he described as a mass shooter with no warning signs before a turnaround event, such as a termination. "I believe [the new law] will deter and reduce the amount of gun violence in Arkansas."
The new law pairs with Act 859 of 2017, which restricts carrying a concealed weapon at teaching hospitals, day cares, collegiate athletic events and private colleges, bars or churches that choose not to allow concealed handguns.
Collins said the education leaders' concerns were typically twofold: that campus police may not know how to respond in a shooting if there are "good guys with a gun" and that there may be accidental discharges.
"The concealed carry law works in malls and restaurants all over the state, and police forces deal with concealed carry holders all over the state," he said. "Our police are well-trained and know how to handle these situations, and ... Arkansas concealed carry license holders know how to behave.
"The reality is this is a very responsible group."
Accidents "sadly" occur anyway, he said, and there's no guarantee that won't happen.
"In that sense, it's a matter of does benefit outweigh risk," Collins said. "I believe it does."
Making preparations
The state's university systems -- Arkansas State University and the University of Arkansas -- gave their schools some guidance on the matter.
"We have been taking questions and comments from all of our campuses, divisions and units to make sure everyone is on the same page with implementation and other things, such as signage and exemptions," said Nate Hinkel, director of communications for the UA System.
The UA System -- which has five universities, seven community colleges, an academic medical center, a public residential high school and other divisions and schools -- is considering training sessions with campus security officers and is drafting a new systemwide weapons policy, he said.
The policy encourages its entities to create their own rules with campus-specific "exemptions permitting the use and storage of weapons related to the scope of an individual's employment or to regular educational or recreational activities conducted under the supervision of appropriate university personnel."
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, which placed information on the new law online at safety.uark.edu, is encouraging its campus community to send any additional questions to [email protected], said Mark Rushing, assistant vice chancellor of university relations. UA, too, has conducted campus forums on the topic.
"We learned a lot from the participants in the community discussion, and it's this process of working together to understand all perspectives that's key to our campus transitioning to concealed carry," he said. "One of the things we learned was that we need to convene more of these informational sessions. Message received, we're moving forward with that."
Joe Spivey, Northwest Arkansas Community College board vice chairman, asked whether the college would offer the training necessary to obtain the permit endorsement.
Concealed-carry training providers will offer the training, and the college is not a licenses provider, Taylor said. Information on obtaining permits and a list of instructors is available on the state police website, asp.arkansas.gov.
Guns will not be allowed at Farmington High School and The Jones Center in Springdale, two buildings off-campus that the college uses.
"So when we have students moving between sites to take classes, they're going to have to be careful of that," Jorgenson said.
Trustee Mark Scott mentioned an issue that came up this summer at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Questions were raised there over how the presence of a charter high school on campus would affect implementation of the state law, because federal law prohibits guns within 1,000 feet of a public or private school.
The university system released a legal opinion in June stating while guns won't be allowed in the buildings where the charter school is located, they will be allowed elsewhere on campus once the new law takes effect.
Taylor said she doesn't anticipate any buildings on Northwest Arkansas Community College's main campus to be exempt from the law. She was seeking clarification, however, on how the testing center on the Student Center's third floor would be affected.
"So that's one of the questions I've posed to the [attorney general]," she said. "That wouldn't be a building; that would be the testing center itself."
NW News on 08/21/2017