Items dealing with guns already have begun making their way through the legislative process in Little Rock, only a few days after the 2013 session began Monday.
On Thursday, Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, introduced Senate Bill 71, allowing a church or other place of worship to determine who can carry a concealed handgun inside.
The bill, entitled the Church Protection Act of 2013, has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“President Obama has it all wrong,” King said. “We need to be passing more citizen protection laws and less gun control.”
Also, several area House members are co-sponsors of a resolution encouraging the government to preserve Second Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.
House Resolution 1003 encourages all branches of federal, state and local governments to respect and preserve Second Amendment rights and oppose any action that would “abridge, infringe upon, or limit the right to keep and bear arms.”
The resolution, by Rep. Richard Womack, R-Arkadelphia, was filed Wednesday (Jan. 16) and has been referred to the State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The resolution also asks that a copy be distributed to various public officials, including President Obama, the chief executive officer of all state legislative chambers and each member of Arkansas’ congressional delegation.
The area legislators who have signed on as co-sponsors are Reps. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville, Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, Randy Alexander, R-Fayetteville, and Bob Ballinger, R-Hindsville.
In a Facebook post Thursday linking to the resolution, Dotson wrote:
