Draft out on program for hidden-gun toters

It calls for laws study, marksmanship tests

Arkansas State Police have released a first draft of the licensing and training procedures for carrying concealed handguns in bars, public colleges and other previously forbidden places under a so-called enhanced carry law approved this year.

The proposed guidelines, which the agency drafted in accordance with Act 562 of 2017, state that enhanced carry permit holders must receive instruction on handling “emergent situations,” such as mass shootings, and must prove their marksmanship by passing a “live-fire proficiency” test.

Also required is training on how to interact with police in “emergent situations” and how to avoid injuring bystanders in such scenarios, according to the guidelines.

The proposal takes the controversial law one step closer to full enactment. It was passed after receiving widespread opposition from colleges, law enforcement agencies and national gun control groups. The law technically took effect Sept. 1, but it requires enhanced carry permit holders to complete an augmented training program that has yet to be created. The law requires that the Arkansas State Police develop such a program within 120 days of the law going into effect.

The state police posted the first draft of the training program on its website Wednesday, beginning a 30-day period in which it will accept public comments on the guidelines. Oral comments will be heard Oct. 31 at 10 a.m. at the state police headquarters in Little Rock. Written comments can be submitted through the agency’s website.

The Arkansas Times blog on Saturday first reported the proposed regulations.

State Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, was one of the lead sponsors of Act 562. He has repeatedly said that enhanced carry will make college campuses and other public places safer, especially when it comes to protecting against mass shooters.

“I think we’re actually setting a national standard for how you can expand concealed carry into sensitive areas to help deter some of these crazy killers,” he said Saturday.

Collins praised the enhanced training program outlined by state police.

State police Maj. Lindsey Williams said the training program, once finalized, will provide guidance to licensed firearms instructors, who will independently develop eighthour courses for enhanced carry permit holders.

The proposal calls for six hours of study of gun safety and firearms laws ranging from civil liability statutes to the “possible ramifications of alcohol use while in possession of a firearm.” Two hours would be spent training on a gun range. Under the proposal, applicants would have three chances to pass a “livefire proficiency test,” which includes timed shooting exercises at distances between 3 and 15 yards.

Also required would be training on “emergent situations in public locations, including the proper response to law enforcement and the duty to avoid innocent bystanders.” Williams, who oversees handgun licensing at the agency, said that means teaching enhanced carry permit holders when it’s appropriate to intervene in an emergency and when it’s not.

“They need to be aware that different situations could require different responses, and they need to evaluate that,” he said. “Is it proper to pull out that weapon and take action? Is is better to run, hide and then fight as a last resort? They just need to evaluate that.”

The proposal also calls for training in “weapon retention.”

“It’s methods to guard against unauthorized use or somebody getting that weapon when they don’t have any business taking it away from you,” Williams said.

Williams said training on the “proper response to law enforcement” will stress caution.

“A police officer arriving is not going to immediately tell whether someone is good or bad,” he said. “They’re just going to see a gun in someone’s hand.”

The possibility of such encounters under the enhanced carry law has troubled some Arkansas lawmen, including the head of the state’s largest police department, Little Rock Police Chief Kenton Buckner. He said the training for enhanced carry permit holders isn’t enough to lessen his “grave concerns.”

“Once the chaos actually ensues, with someone who hasn’t trained that extensively, I can see something bad happening to an innocent person,” he said.

Public colleges across the state have been preparing for the enhanced carry law to take effect.

Some institutions, including Arkansas Tech University, started informational sessions this spring. Many are continuing those communication efforts into this fall semester. Most have also sent out campus-wide emails addressing frequently asked questions on campus-carry rules for the fall semester and beyond.

The University of Arkansas System — which has five universities, seven community colleges, an academic medical center, a public residential high school, and other divisions and schools — said in August that it was considering training sessions with campus security officers and is drafting a system-wide weapons policy.

The policy encourages its entities to create their own rules with campus-specific “exemptions permitting the use and storage of weapons related to the scope of an individual’s employment or to regular educational or recreational activities conducted under the supervision of appropriate university personnel.”

A spokesman for the school system did not respond to a request for comment Saturday.

Private colleges, on the other hand, are not subject to the enhanced carry law. The law was paired with Act 859 of 2017, which restricts carrying concealed weapons at private colleges, teaching hospitals, collegiate athletic events, day cares, bars or churches that choose not to allow concealed handguns.

Any university seeking to designate an event as a “firearm-sensitive area” must submit a detailed security plan outlining expected attendance, security and medical personnel, evacuation procedures and other information to the Arkansas State Police, according to the proposed agency guidelines.

State police spokesman Bill Sadler on Saturday stressed that the enhanced carry guidelines are preliminary.

“We’re prepared to accept comments and consider those comments for potential revisions,” he said.