Concealed Carry Law Goes Into Effect Today but Guns Are Still Banned on U of A Campus Pending Arkansas State Police Action

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – There are many questions about Arkansas’ new “campus concealed carry” law, but the most basic is: when does it go into effect?

The simple answer is that the law goes into effect on Friday, Sept. 1 – but there’s a catch. The law doesn’t take effect on the University of Arkansas campus until the Arkansas State Police develops a training process for “enhanced” concealed carry permits, which are required under the law.

The State Police has 120 days to develop this process, and has indicated it may need all of that time.

Until those enhanced permits are available all guns are still banned from the University of Arkansas campus, except in the case of certified law enforcement officers.

The U of A is still committed to preparing the campus for the day the new law actually takes effect on campus by continuing to work with students, faculty and staff to help answer questions about the new law.

A campus forum on the concealed campus carry law will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 6 in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development auditorium. The entire campus community is invited to attend.

Chancellor Joseph E. Steinmetz will speak prior to the forum and a three-member panel will discuss the new law and answer questions from those who attend the event. 

The panel members will be:

• Steve Gahagans, director, University of Arkansas Police Department
• Matt McCoy, associate general counsel
• Mark Rushing, assistant vice chancellor for University Relations

This is expected to be the first of several educational events intended to keep the campus community informed about the new law. This forum will be available online for those who cannot attend.

Anyone wanting more information about the “campus concealed carry” law can find it on the U of A Safety website. The site includes basic information about the new laws as well as answers to frequently asked questions.

Members of the campus community who have questions that are not answered on the site are encouraged to send those questions to feedback@uark.edu.