Arkansas Senate approves making gun list secret

— Arkansas senators have approved legislation that would make secret the names of about 130,000 people in the state who are permitted to carry concealed handguns.

The Senate voted 24-9 Wednesday on a bill that would make the list of concealed carry permit holders exempt from Arkansas' Freedom of Information Act. State law currently allows the state to release the names and ZIP codes of permit holders.

The bill now heads to the House.

Republican Sen. Bruce Holland of Greenwood says he proposed the change after a New York newspaper published the list of concealed carry permit holders following last year's school shooting in Connecticut. Gov. Mike Beebe and several media organizations are opposed to the bill.

The current law was the result of a 2009 compromise struck in the Legislature.

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