LITTLE ROCK — An Arkansas House panel has advanced a proposal to make secret the list of 130,000 residents permitted to carry concealed weapons.
The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved the measure to exempt the concealed carry permit list from Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act.
The measure now heads to the House for a full vote.
It faces opposition from Gov. Mike Beebe and news organizations who say it undermines a 2009 compromise lawmakers approved to restrict access to some — but not all — information about the permits.
Current law allows the state to release only the names and ZIP codes of permit holders.
