Everytown, Arkansas Moms Demand Action Condemn House Passage of Bill That Would Force Colleges to Allow Guns on Campus

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today released the statement below in response to the House passage of HB 1249, which would force Arkansas’ public colleges and universities to allow staff members to carry hidden, loaded handguns on campus – including in classrooms, offices and at most campus events. Nationwide, polling shows that 95 percent of college presidents and 94 percent of college faculty oppose guns on campus.

STATEMENT FROM AUSTIN BAILEY, VOLUNTEER CHAPTER LEADER WITH THE ARKANSAS CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:

“Today our representatives voted against the will of Arkansas’ campus police, university presidents and parents throughout our state. Guns on campus are a bad idea. Our law enforcement officers have told us that this legislation will make their jobs harder and more dangerous in crisis situations, and Arkansas professors have told us that this will change the focused learning environment they’re trying to cultivate in their classrooms. Along with other members of the Arkansas chapter of Moms Demand Action, I’ll be calling my legislators today. We have to make sure that our representatives and senators know that they should be our voice – and not the voice of the gun lobby.”