Arkansas lawmakers considered competing redistricting proposals that would divide the state’s most populous county between congressional seats on Wednesday
Arkansas Term Limits and other plaintiffs filed suit Friday in the federal Eastern District of Arkansas to overturn a new state law that limits who can
Credit Michael Hibblen / KUAR News
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Wednesday that he’ll sign a bill that would bar state and local law officers from helping enforce new and future federal gun restrictions a move critics say would be unconstitutional and create confusion about which gun limits the state does recognize.
The new legislation, which is a scaled back version of a bill Hutchinson vetoed, declares invalid in the state any federal gun restrictions enacted on or after Jan. 1, 2021, that violate the constitutional right to bear arms. Lawmakers voted largely along party lines early Wednesday to send the measure to the Republican governor for his consideration.
Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, R-Hermitage, presents House Bill 1957 to the House floor.
Credit Arkansas House
In the last moments of the 2021 Arkansas General Legislative Session, which ended early Tuesday after 1 a.m., the legislature managed to pass a bill that bans police from enforcing some federal gun laws, but addresses problems previously brought up on a similar bill that was vetoed by the governor.
House Bill 1957, filed late Monday night, made its way through the legislature in fewer than 28 hours through a series of committee meetings, recesses and votes.
The legislation would ban all state and local law enforcement officers from enforcing any federal gun laws that conflict with the right to bear arms as outlined in both the U.S. and Arkansas Constitution. Those include any laws requiring registration, tracking or banning possession of firearms. The bill is nearly identical to Senate Bill 298, which Gov. Asa Hutchinson vetoed on Friday.