Arkansas has some of the weakest gun laws in the country and the ninth-highest gun death rate. State lawmakers must act to close loopholes and enact lifesaving reforms.
In recent years, Arkansas has enacted few meaningful gun safety laws. Instead it began allowing concealed carry at universities and polling places. In 2022, Arkansas had the eighth highest gun death rate among the states. In an average year, 638 people die from gun violence in the state. That means that someone dies from gun violence every 14 hours. Fifty-six percent of these deaths are gun suicides, and 39% are gun homicides.
What Arkansas Does Well
- Partial mental health record reporting
What Arkansas Is Missing
- Universal background checks
- Gun owner licensing
- Extreme risk protection orders
- Domestic violence gun laws
- Assault weapon restrictions
- Large capacity magazine ban
- Waiting periods
- Strong concealed carry law
- Open carry regulations
- Child access prevention laws
- Community violence intervention funding
SPOTLIGHT
GUN LAW SCORECARD
The data is clear: states with stronger gun laws have less gun violence. See how your state compares in our annual ranking.
Read MoreEXPLORE ARKANSAS’S GUN LAWS
WHO CAN HAVE A GUN
OWNER RESPONSIBILITIES
CHILD & CONSUMER SAFETY
GUNS IN PUBLIC
HARDWARE & AMMUNITION
OTHER LAWS & POLICIES
SUPPORT GUN SAFETY
We’re in this together. To build a safer America—one where children and parents in every neighborhood can learn, play, work, and worship without fear of gun violence—we need you standing beside us in this fight.
