Arkansas' gun-carry laws were the focal point of debate for the second straight day in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, and again the panel failed to approve any firearms legislation.
The eight-member panel considered Senate Bill 585, a proposal by Sen. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, to write into law that "unlicensed carry is not prohibited" in Arkansas.
But unanswered questions about what that exactly means -- it's unclear how the bill would affect existing prohibitions against taking guns to bars, schools, colleges and other public places -- left several Republicans to withhold judgment.
A vote on the bill fell one short of the five "ayes" needed to pass, though three committee members remained silent.
"I think the bill either does nothing, because it's subject to other rules of the state of Arkansas, or it abolishes all [gun] laws," said Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, committee chairman. He abstained from the vote.
Rice was repeatedly asked what restrictions on concealed-carry and open-carry his bill would affect. Rice said he was not a lawyer and did not know.
"I would leave that up to the courts," Rice said.
Whether Arkansas is an "open-carry" state -- meaning gun owners can freely carry their weapons in public without a license -- depends on whom you ask. In separate opinions, two attorneys general have issued different guidance on the matter.
Current Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, a Republican, issued an opinion in 2015 advising gun owners that they had a right to take their weapons with them into public, as long as they do not enter places where carrying is otherwise prohibited by law, such as a bar.
However, Rutledge's opinion also noted that open-carrying Arkansans should expect to be questioned by law enforcement.
An earlier opinion by then-Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, a Democrat, said Arkansans had no such right under Act 746 of 2013, a law dealing with open-carry rights.
That law said lawful gun owners were free to take their guns on a "journey" outside their own county, but McDaniel stated he didn't understand the law to mean Arkansans could tote their guns while outside a vehicle.
Neither opinion is legally binding. Rice said his bill is intended to clarify Rutledge's opinion in law.
Also Wednesday, the committee split when considering an amendment to House Bill 1249, a bill that would remove the ability of public colleges and universities to enact blanket bans on concealed-carry. An agreement on what, if any, restrictions to keep for college campuses has eluded the Senate for more than a month.
A Section on 03/09/2017