12:05 P.M. UPDATE:
A group of state senators backed a bill Wednesday that would require public universities to allow faculty and staff with concealed carry permits to carry their firearms on campus.
The bill, HB 1249, is sponsored by Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, and was sent to the full Senate by the eight member Senate Judiciary Committee.
Check back with Arkansas Online for updates on this developing story and read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
EARLIER:
Two state lawmakers told a panel of their peers Wednesday why they believe Arkansas universities should be required to allow faculty and staff to carry firearms on campus if they have concealed carry permits.
Speaking to the eight-member Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Trent Garner, R-El Dorado, sat next to the bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, and told lawmakers he supports HB 1249 for two reasons.
The first, Garner said, is because he believes reducing the time between when a “bad guy” starts shooting and a “good guy” with a gun shows up will save lives. As competent as campus police officers are, they will never reduce that time more than an armed staff member at the scene will, he said.
Garner also said he believes the right to bear arms is a fundamental right, and lawmakers have to be “very careful” when they attempt to limit that right.
Collins told lawmakers the purpose of his bill is to deter killers who may choose an Arkansas campus as their next target. These people plot out attacks and often plan to carry them out to purposefully avoid police, Collins said, citing a study. The bill is not about replacing law enforcement, he said.
“This is one more tool in the toolbox,” Collins later added.
In 2013, Collins sponsored a similar bill that allowed campuses to choose whether or not to allow staff members to conceal carry on campus, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported. All of the state's public universities opted out.
Collins also summarized the requirements for obtaining a concealed carry license, including background checks, and said the proposed law only recognizes Arkansas licenses.
In answering a question posed by Sen. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, Collins told the committee the law would not affect college students. Those who could bring a gun on campus would be professors and employees — not youths who might drink “a fifth of whiskey” and handle a gun irresponsibly, he said.
Sen. Will Bond, D-Little Rock, asked Collins a series of questions, including if any law enforcement agency in the state has come out in support of the bill. The representative said he was not aware of any, adding that Arkansas State Police has remained neutral on the issue.
After saying no university asked for the law, Collins said he’s gotten the question, “Why aren’t you listening to anybody?” a few times. He said 71 members in the state House of Representatives have backed the bill and believe their constituents support it.
As lawmakers debated the bill, a line of people hugged the committee room wall waiting to speak. Eve Jorgensen, a volunteer from the advocacy group Moms Demand Action, told lawmakers she opposes the bill because Arkansas mothers already trust the people on college campuses who look after the safety of their children. Untrained college professors should not take on the role of law enforcement, she said.
Blake Robertson, president of Northwest Technical Institute in Springdale, spoke in favor of the bill, saying his institution does not have a police unit and he is charged with the safety of around 300 students.
During the meeting, Committee Chairman Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, proposed an amendment to the bill that would mandate license holders who want to conceal carry on campus undergo 16 hours of active shooter training.
“I do believe there is a place for guns on campus,” Hutchinson said, adding that it’s a better policy to make sure people have adequate training.
After discussion, that amendment was voted down by the panel.
Members of the public were still commenting on the bill as of 11:45 a.m. A vote on the law is expected later Wednesday.