ARKANSAS church carry

Amendendment filed to the bill.
As amended, it would now read:
"(16) Any church or place of worship unless otherwise permitted
by the church or place of worship;"
This will completely remove the debate over signs and will allow each church to set its own policy.
 
HB1237 has been amended again and as it now stands would read, “"(16) Any church or place of worship except that this subdivision (16) does not apply to a church or place of worship if the church or place of worship has specifically authorized a licensee to carry a concealed handgun into the church or place of worship;”
I will be honest and say that I am not totally happy with this wording, but I will still support it. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Pyle, has tried every imaginable option to formulate wording that will get this bill out of this committee. As it stands now, this wording should pass.
I am very unhappy about the letter of the law in this bill, but I support it because in the end it will allow a church to make its own decision. As it was explained to me, a church would simply have to say “we will not prosecute anyone who lawfully carries or uses a concealed weapon” without actually authorizing anyone to carry.
This bill will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee again tomorrow (March 18th) at 10 am in room 171.
 
Change of plans. Rep. Pyle has decided NOT to run the bill on Wednesday due to an unavoidable circumstance. I apologize for the late notice.
I will post an update when something changes.
Nathan
 
Should this not pass, would having a state senator friendly to the idea ask for an AG opinion as to the constitutionality of the existing law be a good idea? This must be given if requested by a legislator. In the past, AG opinions where statute was opined as unconstitutional resulted in swift action.
 
I think an AG opinion would be the next logical step. I do not know if it would do us any good, but I believe it would be illogical not to try.
And I don't think we would have a problem finding a Senator who would do that.
 
I'll bet that the pastor that was recently shot and killed would have liked to had the opportunity to defend himself with a handgun. It's too bad that some stupid law forbids such a logical thing from occuring legally. Again... only the criminal can prevail in such a situation. What good is such a limited right to a law abiding citizen?

Any one ever heard of pastor Murry I believe his name is? I know my wife listens to him a lot and apparently he carries a gun and has been known to have it handy on several occasions. He's also a marine that served his active duty a good while back.


Roach
 
HB1237 is slated to be run before the Senate Judiciary Committee TOMORROW Wednesday March 25 at 10 am.
Here is the situation: We have 4 solid votes and one who is “iffy.” Five are needed to pass this bill. Discussions are taking place this afternoon to solidify the 5 needed votes. The one on the fence is Hank Wilkins. He has stated that his decision may come down to testimony offered in the meeting tomorrow.
The people behind this bill have contacted me and asked if we (pastors, supporters) could be on standby if we are needed tomorrow. I will know sometime this evening- though it may be late- if there is a need for us to be there.
I'm just giving everyone a heads-up. If you are able, please make tentative plans to attend this meeting and speak in support of HB1237. I will send out another update this evening as soon as I receive word on whether our presence will be necessary.
Again- the sponsor DOES plan to run the bill tomorrow, and it MAY come down to how many supporters vs. opponents are in the room.
 
HB1237 will be run tomorrow and we DO need to be there. The final decision will likely come down to the testimony given during this meeting.
Sen. Hank Wilkins, the swing vote, is a minister. It would likely be helpful to address the issue of church rights and the state's error in overstepping its bounds to make a religious decision.
Meeting is 10 am in room 171. We especially need pastors who will support this to be present. All support is welcomed and will be beneficial, but in the end it will probably be the voice of the pastors which will speak most loudly to the committee.
Thanks,
Nathan
 
Nah. He will get re-elected at least- if not also cheered by his constituents. But, the fact remains that he acted in a very unproffessional manner and did it without any regard to the citizens of Arkansas.
 
This thread has a specific topic.

Personal rants about the subject State, and responses to that rant, are off topic and have been removed.
 
Rev, I cannot fathom this bill dieing in lieu of the blatant stats on church shootings!:mad: I am appalled that it got so close with needed revisions etc. just to fail. How can those politicians sleep at night knowing they helped keep churches safe for the nut jobs and not the parishioners?
I hope ya'll finally get it thru!
Regards,
Brent
 
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