Arkansas Radio Outlet Argues About State’s ‘Weak Gun Laws’ As If That Matters

Arkansas has had its issues with guns in the not-too-distant past, but it was mostly a matter of being overly enthusiastic while trying to restore people’s gun rights. They didn’t always have the logistics worked out on how to do it, but they were definitely trying to move in the right direction.

As a result, the state isn’t exactly what anyone would consider an anti-gun oasis by any stretch of the imagination.

Yet it seems at least some seem to think that having “weak” gun laws on the books is no reason to try and make things better regarding people’s right to keep and bear arms.

On Monday, legislators with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) considered allowing gun owners to carry their firearm at bus stops, the state capitol and public colleges.

Arkansas state lawmakers are working on potential future bills that would ease some gun control regulations now in place. On Monday, legislators with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) considered allowing gun owners to carry their firearm at bus stops, the state capitol and public colleges. The potential gun measures would also make it more difficult for cities and counties to pass their own regulations. 

Yet, critics of easing gun control laws point to the latest ranking from the non-profit organization Everytown For Gun Safety, founded by former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. The agency advocates for gun control and against gun violence. It now ranks Arkansas #50 in the country for gun law strength in 2024, down from #49 last year, and has one of the highest rates of gun deaths in the country. Everytown states that, “Despite the state’s high rate of violence, legislators acted in 2021 to dismantle the only remaining foundational gun law by repealing the concealed carry permitting requirement.”

Note how they start off by calling Everytown a non-profit? I mean, it’s technically correct, but it takes them a bit to get to the fact that the advocate for gun control.

And that’s all they really do. It’s not about violent crime, it’s simply guns are used in those.

Regardless, I fail to see why expanding people’s rights is a bad thing. Yes, Arkansas has a problem with violence, but they had gun control for ages and it didn’t really seem to help.

Let’s also not forget that heavily gun-controlled Washington, DC has the highest homicide rate among “states” according to the CDC. Heavily gun-controlled Maryland isn’t very far behind Arkansas.

Now, I get that the further expansion of gun rights is news, but the fact that a heavily biased organization that exists solely to push gun control ranks the state as having the weakest gun laws isn’t exactly relevant to the story.

My response to this claim is basically, “So?”

Everytown isn’t the arbiter of right and wrong. They think they are, but their rankings are based entirely on their own anti-gun agenda. Where they rank any state, city, or whatever shouldn’t be taken seriously by literally anyone.

Arkansas is doing the right thing here and they should keep doing it. If it upsets anti-gunners, that’s even more reason to do it, in my book.