ARKANSAS, USA — At the end of the month many of the acts passed during the legislative session will go into effect—including some that will impact gun owners.
Bryan Hearn is a concealed carry instructor and owner at American Tiger Firearms in North Little Rock and he explained that right now you need to pass his class to get a concealed carry permit, but in a few weeks, you might not.
"A lot of people say, well, now with the new laws going into effect, I don't have to have a concealed carry," Hearn explained. "Well, that's true, that is your option. But I would recommend that you get some type of training, whether it be for concealed carry, or any, just a gun safety class."
Act 777 shows that next month, Arkansans will not need a license to carry a concealed handgun.
Though gun owners do still have the option for further training to carry in other states.
'You can be more dangerous with a firearm if you don't understand how it is just like putting somebody who's underage in a car and put them out on the interstate. It's very dangerous to them. And to us. It's the same thing with a firearm, it's a piece of machinery," he said.
The stack of over 100 pages Hearn has been reading this week includes two other acts:
Act 757 would allow medical marijuana patients to carry a gun concealed as well.
"That means someone's taking medicine. And if someone's taking medicine, for the most part, that shouldn't preclude someone from carrying a gun," Law Professor Robert Steinbuch at the William H Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock explained the new law.
Steinbuch also explained that goes against federal law and will still need to be interpreted in practice.
"The challenge is that to buy a gun, you must declare that you're not using illegal drugs and federally marijuana remains illegal," Steinbuch said.
Finally, Act 30 will allow someone who voluntarily went into a mental health treatment facility the option of getting a concealed carry license two years later.
Mental health therapist Natasha Thorne explained that it's a complex issue.
"You don't want it to be a hindrance for somebody seeking treatment. If they say, okay, well, they'll take my guns away, or, you know, I may not be able to protect myself," Thorne explained. "However, if you have someone that may be actively suicidal, or in a mental health crisis, you know, one of the biggest concerns is just kind of limiting that access to those types of things."
Even as laws change— Hearn said gun owners should always stay up to date.
"If you're going to carry a gun, you really need to know where you can care where you can't... [legislators] make the laws, we just have to try to interpret them and teach them to what they're saying," Hearn added.
For a list of other laws taking effect next month, we have a list here.