UALR's gun-free zones for eStem curtailed by UA System

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will not be exempt from a new state law allowing guns on Arkansas college campuses, according to a legal opinion released by the University of Arkansas System office on Friday.

The opinion followed a June 18 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article detailing a plan to draw 1,000-foot-radius gun-free zones around the eStem High School in Larson Hall and the Donaghey Student Center under the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act.

"The federal prohibition does not apply to the possession of a firearm if the individual possessing it is licensed to do so by the state and law enforcement authorities of the state have verified that the individual is qualified under law to receive the license," according to the opinion.

"Therefore, an individual who is licensed by the state to carry a concealed handgun and has the necessary endorsement of the [Arkansas] State Police will be able to do so on the campus of UA Little Rock even within a 1,000-foot radius of Larson and Ross Halls."

Guns still won't be allowed inside Larson and Ross halls because state law prohibits the weapons in kindergarten through 12th-grade schools, according to the opinion.

Larson Hall will be the eStem High School's home for the 2017-18 school year. John Bacon, chief executive of eStem Public Charter Schools, had noted that in 2019, the school plans to add classroom space in Ross Hall -- which is next to Larson Hall. Bacon did not return a request for comment Friday.

Donaghey Student Center will have a specified breakfast- and lunch-serving area for the high school students' daily use. However, it was not mentioned as an excluded area in the opinion.

Nate Hinkel, a spokesman for the University of Arkansas System, said only Ross and Larson halls are under lease by eStem.

"The law doesn't apply to any buildings other than the ones under lease to eStem, not to any room or facility where high school students happen to be," he said.

Recently, others had raised questions about the plan to create 1,000-foot buffers under federal law.

The state law, Act 562 of 2017, will allow those with enhanced carry permits to take their weapons onto the campuses of public two- and four-year colleges and into many publicly funded buildings, including the state Capitol. To obtain an enhanced permit, a permit holder will be required to obtain up to eight hours of extra training developed by the state police.

The law has exceptions, such as no guns at athletic events like football games, as long as a security plan is approved by the state police.

Act 562 becomes effective Sept. 1. It gives Arkansas State Police 120 days from that date to formulate rules for the additional firearm-training program for permit-holders.

Sen. Trent Garner, R-El Dorado, who sponsored Act 562, noted the exemption in the federal law.

The exemption applies "if the individual possessing the firearm is licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located or a political subdivision of the State, and the law of the State or political subdivision requires that, before an individual obtains such a license, the law enforcement authorities of the State or political subdivision verify that the individual is qualified under law to receive the license."

"From just a plain reading of the law, it seems like that exemption was put in there for the states to have the ability to create a license where you could carry on a school campus," he said.

And a spokesman for the National Rifle Association said the federal law did not apply to those with concealed-carry licenses.

'The Gun Free Zone Act allows persons with a valid concealed carry permit issued by the state to carry in a school in that state," said Lars Dalseide, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association. "However, Arkansas law applies as well and prohibits even those with a carry permit from possessing a firearm at schools, although there are exceptions."

Bill Sadler, spokesman for Arkansas State Police, said the new state law allows someone to enter a college campus -- after receiving additional training -- with a concealed weapon.

He said the law does not allow someone to enter a K-12 school with a concealed weapon. Sadler also said it does not allow someone on school grounds to possess a concealed weapon, though a parent with a concealed handgun could drop off a student so long as the parent did not leave the car.

"We are in a position where not only law enforcement as a whole -- because it will not just be left to state police -- and public universities are beginning to realize that there's a lot to be learned about how these laws will be enforced and how these laws will impact where a firearm can be carried," he said.

That's "regardless of whether it be the assertion of a 1,000-foot buffer because of a K-12 on the property or in some sort of a dormitory setting where they may be some sort of daycare facility for married couples or wherever it might be. We're plowing new ground here."

A spokesman for the state Department of Education referred a reporter to the attorney general's office for comment.

Judd Deere, a spokesman for Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's office, said he couldn't address the meaning of the state and federal laws because there was not a previous opinion from the office that addressed that topic.

"If the Department of Education or a member of the Legislature wanted to ask our office for an opinion, we would certainly -- depending on the scope and the question -- may have to look at what the law is and how that relates to certain parts of federal law," he said.

Education officials still have several months to finalize plans to implement the law.

A Section on 07/01/2017

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