Arkansas Senate Committee Defeats Attempt To Allow Guns In Churches

In Arkansas, gun rights proponents have failed in their efforts to remove the state ban on carrying concealed weapons in churches. ABP reported yesterday that by a voice vote, a committee of the Arkansas Senate rejected HB 1237 that had been passed by the House (see prior posting). The bill would have amended the state's concealed-carry law to allow firearms in places of worship unless signs were posted by the church prohibiting them. Proponents of the measure had argued that "self-defense is a moral decision, and that decision should not be made for churches by the state."