Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
1 State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H3/7/19 H3/14/19
2 92nd General Assembly A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2019 HOUSE BILL 1694
4
5 By: Representatives Womack, Wardlaw
6 By: Senator G. Stubblefield
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO ELIMINATE GUN-FREE ZONES; TO REPEAL LAWS IN
10 CONFLICT; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
11
12
13 Subtitle
14 TO ELIMINATE GUN-FREE ZONES; AND TO
15 REPEAL LAWS IN CONFLICT.
16
17
18 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
19
20 SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Legislative intent.
21 The intent of this act is to provide for the safety of the public by
22 eliminating gun-free zones.
23
24 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code 5-73-119 is amended to read as follows:
25 5-73-119. Handguns Possession by minor or possession on school
26 property.
27 (a)(1) No A person in this state under eighteen (18) years of age
28 shall not possess a handgun.
29 (2)(A) A violation of subdivision (a)(1) of this section is a
30 Class A misdemeanor.
31 (B) A violation of subdivision (a)(1) of this section is a
32 Class D felony if the person has previously:
33 (i) Been adjudicated delinquent for a violation of
34 subdivision (a)(1) of this section;
35 (ii) Been adjudicated delinquent for any offense
36 that would be a felony if committed by an adult; or
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1 (iii) Pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to or been
2 found guilty of a felony in circuit court while under eighteen (18) years of
3 age.
4 (b)(1) No A person in this state less than twenty-one (21) years of
5 age shall not possess a firearm:
6 (A) Upon upon the developed property of a public or
7 private school, kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12);.
8 (B) In or upon any school bus; or
9 (C) At a designated bus stop as identified on the route
10 list published by a school district each year.
11 (2)(A) A violation of subdivision (b)(1) of this section is a
12 Class D felony.
13 (B) No sentence imposed for a violation of subdivision
14 (b)(1) of this section shall be suspended or probated or treated as a first
15 offense under 16-93-301 et seq.
16 (c)(1) Except as provided in 5-73-322, a person in this state shall
17 not possess a handgun upon the property of any private institution of higher
18 education or a publicly supported institution of higher education in this
19 state on or about his or her person, in a vehicle occupied by him or her, or
20 otherwise readily available for use with a purpose to employ the handgun as a
21 weapon against a person.
22 (2) A violation of subdivision (c)(1) of this section is a Class
23 D felony.
24 (d)(c) Handgun means a firearm capable of firing rimfire ammunition
25 or centerfire ammunition and designed or constructed to be fired with one (1)
26 hand.
27 (e)(d) It is permissible to carry a handgun under this section if at
28 the time of the act of possessing a handgun or firearm:
29 (1) The person is in his or her own dwelling or place of
30 business or on property in which he or she has a possessory or proprietary
31 interest, except upon the property of a public or private institution of
32 higher learning;
33 (2) The person is a law enforcement officer, correctional
34 officer, or member of the armed forces acting in the course and scope of his
35 or her official duties;
36 (3) The person is assisting a law enforcement officer,
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1 correctional officer, or member of the armed forces acting in the course and
2 scope of his or her official duties pursuant to the direction or request of
3 the law enforcement officer, correctional officer, or member of the armed
4 forces;
5 (4) The person is a registered commissioned security guard
6 acting in the course and scope of his or her duties;
7 (5) The person is hunting game with a handgun or firearm that
8 may be hunted with a handgun or firearm under the rules and regulations of
9 the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission or is en route to or from a
10 hunting area for the purpose of hunting game with a handgun or firearm;
11 (6) The person is a certified law enforcement officer;
12 (7) The person is on a journey beyond the county in which the
13 person lives, unless the person is eighteen (18) years of age or less;
14 (8) The person is participating in a certified hunting safety
15 course sponsored by the commission or a firearm safety course recognized and
16 approved by the commission or by a state or national nonprofit organization
17 qualified and experienced in firearm safety;
18 (9) The person is participating in a school-approved educational
19 course or sporting activity involving the use of firearms;
20 (10) The person is a minor engaged in lawful marksmanship
21 competition or practice or other lawful recreational shooting under the
22 supervision of his or her parent, legal guardian, or other person twenty-one
23 (21) years of age or older standing in loco parentis or is traveling to or
24 from a lawful marksmanship competition or practice or other lawful
25 recreational shooting with an unloaded handgun or firearm accompanied by his
26 or her parent, legal guardian, or other person twenty-one (21) years of age
27 or older standing in loco parentis;
28 (11) The person has a license to carry a concealed handgun under
29 5-73-301 et seq. and is carrying a concealed handgun on the developed
30 property of:
31 (A) A kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) private
32 school operated by a church or other place of worship that:
33 (i) Is located on the developed property of the
34 kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) private school;
35 (ii) Allows the person to carry a concealed handgun
36 into the church or other place of worship under 5-73-306; and
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1 (iii) Allows the person to possess a concealed
2 handgun on the developed property of the kindergarten through grade twelve
3 (K-12) private school; or
4 (B) A kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) private
5 school or a prekindergarten private school that through its governing board
6 or director has set forth the rules and circumstances under which the
7 licensee may carry a concealed handgun into a building or event of the
8 kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) private school or the
9 prekindergarten private school; or
10 (12)(A) The person has a license to carry a concealed handgun under
11 5-73-301 et seq. and is carrying a concealed handgun in his or her motor
12 vehicle or has left the concealed handgun in his or her locked and unattended
13 motor vehicle in a publicly owned and maintained parking lot.
14 (B)(i) As used in this subdivision (e)(12)(d)(12), parking lot
15 means a designated area or structure or part of a structure intended for the
16 parking of motor vehicles or a designated drop-off zone for children at a
17 school.
18 (ii) Parking lot does not include a parking lot owned,
19 maintained, or otherwise controlled by the Department of Correction or
20 Department of Community Correction.
21
22 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code 5-73-122 is repealed.
23 5-73-122. Carrying a firearm in publicly owned buildings or facilities.
24 (a)(1) Except as provided in 5-73-322, 5-73-306(5), 16-21-147,
25 and this section, it is unlawful for any person other than a law enforcement
26 officer or a security guard in the employ of the state or an agency of the
27 state, or any city or county, or any state or federal military personnel, to
28 knowingly carry or possess a loaded firearm or other deadly weapon in any
29 publicly owned building or facility or on the State Capitol grounds.
30 (2) It is unlawful for any person other than a law enforcement
31 officer or a security guard in the employ of the state or an agency of the
32 state, or any city or county, or any state or federal military personnel, to
33 knowingly carry or possess a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, in the
34 State Capitol Building or the Arkansas Justice Building in Little Rock.
35 (3) However, this subsection does not apply to a person carrying
36 or possessing a firearm or other deadly weapon in a publicly owned building
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1 or facility or on the State Capitol grounds:
2 (A) For the purpose of participating in a shooting match
3 or target practice under the auspices of the agency responsible for the
4 publicly owned building or facility or State Capitol grounds;
5 (B) If necessary to participate in a trade show, exhibit,
6 or educational course conducted in the publicly owned building or facility or
7 on the State Capitol grounds;
8 (C)(i) If the person has a license to carry a concealed
9 handgun under 5-73-301 et seq. and is carrying a concealed handgun in his
10 or her motor vehicle or has left the concealed handgun in his or her locked
11 and unattended motor vehicle in a publicly owned and maintained parking lot.
12 (ii)(a) As used in this subdivision (a)(3)(C),
13 parking lot means a designated area or structure or part of a structure
14 intended for the parking of motor vehicles or a designated drop-off zone for
15 children at school.
16 (b) Parking lot does not include a parking
17 lot owned, maintained, or otherwise controlled by the Department of
18 Correction or the Department of Community Correction;
19 (D) If the person has completed the required training and
20 received a concealed carry endorsement under 5-73-322(g) and the place is
21 not:
22 (i) A courtroom or the location of an administrative
23 hearing conducted by a state agency, except as permitted by 5-73-306(5) or
24 5-73-306(6);
25 (ii) A public school kindergarten through grade
26 twelve (K-12), a public prekindergarten, or a public daycare facility, except
27 as permitted under subdivision (a)(3)(C) of this section;
28 (iii) A facility operated by the Department of
29 Correction or the Department of Community Correction; or
30 (iv) A posted firearm-sensitive area, as approved by
31 the Department of Arkansas State Police under 5-73-325, located at:
32 (a) The Arkansas State Hospital;
33 (b) The University of Arkansas for Medical
34 Sciences; or
35 (c) A collegiate athletic event; or
36 (E) If the person has a license to carry a concealed
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1 handgun under 5-73-301 et seq., is a justice of the Supreme Court or a
2 judge on the Court of Appeals, and is carrying a concealed handgun in the
3 Arkansas Justice Building.
4 (4) As used in this section, facility means a municipally
5 owned or maintained park, football field, baseball field, soccer field, or
6 another similar municipally owned or maintained recreational structure or
7 property.
8 (b) However, a law enforcement officer, officer of the court, bailiff,
9 or any other person authorized by the court is permitted to possess a handgun
10 in the courtroom of any court or a courthouse of this state.
11 (c) A person violating this section upon conviction is guilty of a
12 prohibit the possession of a firearm on the private landowner's property; or
13 Class C misdemeanor.
14
15 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code 5-73-127 is repealed.
16 5-73-127. Possession of loaded center-fire weapons in certain areas.
17 (a) It is unlawful to possess a loaded center-fire weapon, other than
18 a shotgun and other than in a residence or business of the owner, in the
19 following areas:
20 (1) Baxter County:
21 (A) That part bounded on the south by Highway 178, on the
22 west and north by Bull Shoals Lake, and on the east by the Central Electric
23 Power Corporation transmission line from Howard Creek to Highway 178;
24 (B) That part of Bidwell Point lying south of the east-
25 west road which crosses Highway 101 at the Presbyterian Church;
26 (C) That part of Bidwell Point lying west of Bennett's
27 Bayou and north of the east-west road which crosses Highway 101 at the
28 Presbyterian Church;
29 (D) That part of Baxter County between:
30 (i) County Road 139 and Lake Norfork to the north
31 and west;
32 (ii) County Road 151 and Lake Norfork to the north,
33 west, and south in the Diamond Bay area;
34 (iii) The Bluff Road and Lake Norfork to the west;
35 (iv) John Lewis Road (Timber Lake Manor) and Lake
36 Norfork to the west and south;
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1 (v) The south end of County Road 91 south of its
2 intersection with John Lewis Road and Lake Norfork to the south and east; and
3 (vi) County Road 150 from its intersection with
4 County Road 93 south and Lake Norfork to the south and east but not east of
5 County Road 93;
6 (2) Benton County:
7 (A) That part of the Hobbs Estate north of State Highway
8 12, west of Rambo Road, and south and east of Van Hollow Creek and the Van
9 Hollow Creek arm of Beaver Lake;
10 (B) All of Bella Vista Village; and
11 (C) That part bounded on the north by Beaver Lake, on the
12 east by Beaver Lake, on the south by the Hobbs State Management Area boundary
13 from the intersection of State Highway 12 eastward along the boundary to its
14 intersection with the Van Hollow Creek arm of Beaver Lake;
15 (3) Benton and Carroll Counties: That part bounded on the north
16 by Highway 62, on the east by Highway 187 and Henry Hollow Creek, and the
17 south and west by Beaver Lake and the road from Beaver Dam north to Highway
18 62;
19 (4) Conway County: That part lying above the rimrock of Petit
20 Jean Mountain;
21 (5) Garland County: All of Hot Springs Village and Diamondhead;
22 (6) Marion County:
23 (A) That part known as Bull Shoals Peninsula, bounded on
24 the east and north by White River and Lake Bull Shoals, on the west by the
25 Jimmie Creek arm of Lake Bull Shoals, and on the south by the municipal
26 boundaries of the City of Bull Shoals;
27 (B) That part of Marion County bounded on the north, west,
28 and south by Bull Shoals Lake and on the east by County Roads 355 and 322
29 from their intersections with State Highway 202 to the points where they
30 respectively dead-end at arms of Bull Shoals Lake;
31 (C) The Yocum Bend Peninsula of Bull Shoals Lake bounded
32 on the north and east by Bull Shoals Lake, on the west by Pine Mountain and
33 Bull Shoals Lake, and on the south by County Road 30; and
34 (D) Those lands situated in Marion County known as the
35 Frost Point Peninsula, not inundated by the waters of Bull Shoals Lake, being
36 more particularly described as follows:
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1 (i) Section Six, Township Twenty North, Range
2 Fifteen West, (Sec. 6 T.20 N. R.15 W.), lying south of the White River
3 channel;
4 (ii) Section One, Township Twenty North, Range
5 Sixteen West, (Sec. 1 T.20 N. R.