Plan adds gun-toters on Arkansas campuses

Any permit holder 25 or older eligible, after training

Senate President Pro Tempore Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, takes notes on the agenda during the state Senate’s session Monday. The House didn’t meet.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, takes notes on the agenda during the state Senate’s session Monday. The House didn’t meet.

Any concealed-weapon permit holder in Arkansas who is at least 25 would be allowed to carry a weapon on public college campuses after completing an active-shooter training program, under a proposal agreed upon by several state lawmakers and Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

The proposal is a six-page amendment offered by Sen. Trent Garner, R-El Dorado, to the House-approved House Bill 1249 by Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville. The bill was originally written to allow just faculty and staff members with the permits to carry their weapons on public college campuses. Garner is the Senate sponsor of HB1249. The proposed change would broaden the bill to include some students and anybody else if they meet the conditions.

Under existing law enacted in 2013, colleges may opt to allow staff members with the permits to take their weapons onto campus. However, no public colleges have chosen to do so. College administrators, as well as campus and city police departments, have largely opposed HB1249.

Garner said his proposed amendment is "a common-sense reform that will help people on college campuses be safe." The bill applies to two- and four-year public colleges.

He said it represents "a compromise" among himself, Collins, Gov. Hutchinson, Senate Republican leader Jim Hendren of Sulphur Springs, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, and others. Gov. Hutchinson is the uncle of Sen. Hutchinson and Hendren. Garner's amendment would have to be approved by both chambers.

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"We'll give people good training for two days. We'll also open it up to more people to actually protect themselves," Garner told reporters.

Garner's proposed changes emerged Monday, four days after the Senate voted 22-10 on Thursday to add an amendment proposed by Sen. Hutchinson to require a 16-hour training program before faculty and staff members with concealed-carry permits could carry their guns on campus.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday rejected Hutchinson's amendment. When it was brought up again the next day on the Senate floor, Garner objected.

Gov. Hutchinson said Monday that "after the tragedy at Sandy Hook, the [National Rifle Association] asked me to lead the National School Shield study in order to identify ways to better protect our students from future incidents."

He was referring to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in 2012 in which 20 children and six staff members were killed by a gunman.

"The findings led me to recommend that schools, if able, should be allowed to have armed personnel on campus only after rigorous training by credentialed professionals," the governor said.

"This has always been my belief, which is why I support this amendment as it adds another layer of protection for students and faculty. I appreciate Rep. Collins' willingness to listen and his dedication to making our campuses a safer place," the Republican governor said in a written statement.

Collins said the proposed amendment balances allowing enough people to carry their concealed weapons on campus to deter the "bad guys" on campus and minimizing the possibility of gun accidents on campus.

He said he would be personally comfortable with allowing people under age 25 who have the permits and are trained to carry weapons on campus, but "25 seemed to be the right answer for Arkansas at this time."

"I'm very happy with this outcome," Collins said. "Hopefully, my colleagues will be as excited about this as I am."

Sen. Hutchinson said he expects the Senate Judiciary Committee to consider Garner's proposed amendment to HB1249 during its next meeting, which could be Wednesday.

He said he'll vote for the proposed amendment.

"I don't like it that it expands the universe" of people who could carry weapons on campus, Sen. Hutchinson said.

"But I think the reality will be there will be fewer people because few people will be willing to get trained, and the training is a huge enhancement to the bill, makes it functional," said Sen. Hutchinson.

"So like any compromise, there are things that I don't like about it. But, by and large, I think it is a fair compromise and certainly improves the bill from its original form," he said.

Two Democrats who have opposed Collins' bill said Garner's amendment was not an improvement.

Sen. Will Bond, D-Little Rock, said he would vote against it. Bond was the only other member of the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote for Hutchinson's amendment last week, but he said the law allowing campuses to choose should be left as is.

"I'm just against the idea that the state Legislature should force guns onto college campuses," Bond said.

Rep. Greg Leding, a Democrat whose Fayetteville district includes the University of Arkansas campus, said Garner's amendment made Collins' original bill worse because it would open the door to some students who are least 25 carrying weapons on campus.

Under the bill, weapons would be allowed in buildings and on the grounds of a public university, college or community college. The active shooter or related training would be prescribed and approved by the director of the Arkansas State Police.

The training program may consist of up to 16 hours and may include active-shooter training, defense tactics, weapon retention and handgun safety and maintenance under the proposed amendment, which states the "costs of the training program .... shall not exceed a nominal amount." The training is required to be offered at all concealed-carry training courses.

The amendment would require the governing boards of campuses located near public hospitals and the Clinton presidential library in Little Rock to adopt a policy disallowing concealed carry if they wish to remain gun-free. The boards also would have to adopt policies disallowing concealed weapons at certain special functions, events and special meetings on campus under certain circumstances if they want to be gun-free.

The proposal would offer an automatic exemption for daycare and child care centers located on campus and at grievance and disciplinary hearings.

The amendment would allow the governing boards of the public colleges and universities to prohibit people possessing an out-of-state concealed-handgun permit from carrying a handgun on campus.

But Arkansas State University Chancellor Chuck Welch said Monday, "We oppose any legislation which takes decision-making authority away from our Board of Trustees and allows individuals to carry guns on campus.

"If individuals are allowed to carry, we would strongly support additional training. We do not support students being allowed to carry on campus," he said in a written statement.

University of Arkansas System spokesman Nate Hinkel said, "We support the existing law on this issue and believe a decision such as this is best left to our board of trustees, which is most knowledgeable regarding campus safety issues."

A Section on 02/21/2017


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