Faulkner Co. Considers Concealed Carry Law
Posted by jhingarat21 on 22nd Sep 2015
FAULKNER COUNTY, Ark. (KTHV) – Faulkner County officials considered an update Tuesday night to their conceal carry policy. It comes after a change during the legislative session earlier this year.
“There’s a laundry list of places that you cannot carry even with a concealed permit,” said David Hogue, Faulkner County Civil Attorney.
That includes the coroner’s office, the tax assessor, and the county courtroom. Concealed weapons aren’t allowed in any of them. But a proposed ordinance in Faulkner County may change that for some people.
“This is either going to decide when you go to file something at a county office or do any business with county government, you may be dealing with someone who’s armed with a gun at that point,” Hogue said.
Earlier this year, the state legislature passed Act 1259. It allows certain individuals to carry a concealed handgun on county property.
“If they work it into their courthouse safety plan, that’s allowable,” Hogue said.
However, it only applies to Faulkner County employees and county-elected officials. The person still must have a license to carry that weapon and each county’s quorum court has to approve the concealed carry for their county. So Hogue brought it before the Quorum Court of Faulkner County.
“The legislature has deemed this is possible, I give that possibility to the quorum court,” he said.
Some people are concerned about guns too readily available while others are concerned about unstable people and what they might do on county property.
“We wouldn’t want people to have guns so ready that the violence goes the wrong way,” he said.
The court didn’t make a decision on Tuesday night, but the members expect the discussion to continue. The Courts and Public Safety Committee plans to consult with the county Sheriff. Then they may propose an amendment and revisit the plan during next month’s meeting. Regardless of the outcome of the vote, everyday citizens are still not allowed to bring a concealed weapon onto county property.