Arkansas Senate adds training requirement to campus gun bill

LITTLE ROCK—The Arkansas Senate voted Thursday to require college and university employees who want to carry concealed handguns on campus to first undergo additional training, prompting a Republican lawmaker to expand the campus-carry proposal to allow some students and visitors to participate.

The Senate voted 22-10 to add a provision mandating 16 hours of active shooter training to a House-backed measure requiring the schools to allow faculty and staff with a license to carry a concealed firearm on campus. The Senate is expected to vote next week on the proposal.

"Nobody is claiming 16 hours is going to make you an expert," Republican Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson said of the training provision, which had been rejected a day earlier by a Senate panel. "But 16 hours is better than no hours."

A 2013 law allows faculty and staff to carry concealed handguns but leaves the decision up to the college or university. No school has opted to do so.

Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/arkansas/story/2017/feb/17/arkansas-senate-adds-training-requirement-campus-gun-bill/661941/