LITTLE ROCK (KFSM) — An Arkansas Senate panel backed a bill that would require Arkansas public universities and colleges to allow faculty and staff to carry handguns if they have a concealed carry permit.
House Bill 1249 amends a former 2013 bill that allowed college and university boards to vote to opt out of allowing their faculty and staff to carry a firearm. All colleges and universities in Arkansas voted to opt out.
If the bill passes colleges and universities will not have the option to opt out unless they are located on or within a half mile of a public hospital or presidential library. The institutions must allow faculty and staff members who have concealed carry licenses to carry handguns on university grounds.
The bill will now head to the full Senate.
