Arkansas Passes Gun Law Reforms in 2019

In 2019, Arkansas passed gun law reform for silencers, other NFA items, and cut concealed handgun permit fees in half. 

The State of Arkansas has passed a significant reform of suppressor law and of state law regarding National Firearms Act firearms generally. SB 400 passed the Senate on 6 March, 2019, 29 to 6.  It passed the House on 13 March, 75 to 12. It was signed into law by Governor Hutchinson on March 19, 2019.

Four  legislators were prominent in leading the fight to pass SB 400 and reform Arkansas gn law. In the Senate, they were Senators Bob Ballinger and Trent Garner. In the House, they were Representatives Justin Gonzales and Jim Dotson.

SB 400, now Act 495, eliminates the Arkansas ban on silenced (suppressed) firearms. The old law made it illegal to use, possess, make, repair, sell or otherwise deal in suppressed firearms.  Senator Ballinger is reported to have told the Senate that there were about 10,000 people who owned suppressors in Arkansas, under the National Firearms Act (NFA). 

SB 400 repealed the prohibition on silenced firearms in its entirety. The old law made suppressed firearms prohibited weapons. It was technically illegal for the owner of a legal silencer to attach it to a firearm.

Silencer/suppressor law in Arkansas has been repealed, except for federal law under the NFA. If the NFA law is reformed, there will not be a conflict with Arkansas law.

In addition, SB 400 makes it clear that other National Firearm Act items, such as short barreled shotguns, short barrelled rifles, and fully automatic guns, can be legally owned under the NFA rules, in Arkansas.

Arkansas is a Constitutional Carry state. A person does not need to have a permit to carry a pistol. But permits are useful for reciprocity in other states. Arkansas is a "Shall Issue" state. The state issues permits to people who meet the objective criteria for the permit.

In this session of the legislature, Arkansas  cut the fees for a concealed carry permit in half. First time permit fees were reduced from $100 to $50, for people 65 or older, the fee was reduced from $50 to $25. The Arkansas permit is recognized by 37 other states.   The bill to cut the permit fees was SB 17. From arkleg.state.ar.us:

SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 5-73-311(a)(2), concerning the fees for a license to carry a concealed handgun, is amended to read as follows:

(2) A nonrefundable license fee of one hundred dollars ($100) fifty dollars ($50.00), except that the nonrefundable license fee is fifty dollars ($50.00) twenty-five dollars ($25.00) if the applicant is sixty-five31(65) years of age or older; 

The renewal fee was reduced from $35 to $25.

Professor John Lott has shown that increased fees reduce the number of people willing to obtain carry permits. Similarly, reduced fees increase carry permit participation rates.

With the decrease in Arkansas permit fees, the percentage of adults with carry permits in Arkansas is likely to increase dramatically in the next few years.

As of 2018, Arkansas was already well above the national average, with 10.4% of the adult population having a concealed handgun carry permit.  The state with the highest participation rate is Alabama, with 22.11% of adults having a permit.

 Arkansas legislators killed bills which would have expanded the list of prohibited possessors in Arkansas, and would have allowed a person to be stripped of Second Amendment rights without due process.

Most of the efforts to reform gun laws are happening in the states.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.


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