Arkansas gun bill draws ire, crowd at Fayetteville forum

FAYETTEVILLE -- A crowd of at least 140 jammed themselves into to a conference room with 50 spectator seats in the first local legislators' forum after a campus carry bill passed the state House.

Almost all hands went up when moderator Steve Clark, president of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, asked who opposed the measure to allow faculty and staff who have concealed carry permits for firearms to bring their guns to state college and university campuses. Few went up when he asked for a show of support. When bill sponsor Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, started to speak, at least a dozen of the spectators held paper targets in front of themselves.

The forum, hosted by the chamber, was held at the former chamber offices in downtown Fayetteville. The bill, House Bill 1249, is before the Senate. Collins has pursued such legislation throughout his political career to date, always with the rationale having even a few concealed carry weapons on state campuses could deter rampage shootings.

"As a policeman, I know there's a difference between training that allows you to hit a target with a pistol and the training that tells you when to use deadly force," said Frank Johnson, former police chief of Fayetteville. "We're cops, and we still don't get it right all the time." Arkansas concealed carry holders are required to take four hours training.

[EMAIL UPDATES: Get free breaking news updates and daily newsletters with top headlines delivered to your inbox]

Collins defended the measure, saying concealed carry permit holders for firearms aren't and were never intended to be a supplemental police force. The purpose of a concealed carry firearm is personal self-defense, but the absence of such firearms make a campus attractive to those planning a shooting rampage. Knowing a gun owner on campus might end his shooting spree, a plotter could avoid that campus, he said.

"When I was a state legislator, people greeted me with 'Good morning, Rep. Gullett,' not 'Good morning, Do-as-you-please Gullet,'" said former representative and state senator Brenda Gullett of Fayetteville, formerly a Democratic legislator from Pine Bluff. "I'm mystified on why you continue to pursue this with the majority of the people you represent oppose it."

Collins said he first proposed this measure in his first race for office in 2010 and has brought a bill similar to this year's House Bill 1249 into the four regular legislative sessions since. Voters in his district re-elect him.

Rep. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, is one of the bill's most outspoken opponents. So is Sen. Uvalde Lindsey, also D-Fayetteville. Both repeated objections at Friday's forum. Leding added, though Collins "knows what he's getting into in these forums and comes anyway. I appreciate that."

In other issues, Rep. Jeff Williams, R-Springdale, announced he believes a regulatory loophole excluding about 4,500 children of legal immigrants from receiving benefits such as coverage by the ArKids first health care program will soon be closed.

Williams district include a large proportion of Marshall Islanders legally residing in there. He said talks with the governor's office and state regulators have been successful but changing the regulations and getting federal approval will take some time. "If it's done by the end of the year, I'll be ecstatic," he said after the forum.

On state finance, Lindsey warned the audience state revenue is seriously lagging behind forecasts and that bodes badly for the state's budget, especially considering unemployment is at record lows and wages are increasing.

NW News on 02/04/2017

Upcoming Events