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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 2023, Arkansas had the seventh highest gun death rate among the states. In an average year, 658 people die from gun violence in the state. That means that someone dies from gun violence every 13 hours. Fifty-six percent of these deaths are gun suicides, and 40% are gun homicides. In Arkansas, the rate of gun deaths increased 32% from 2014 to 2023, compared to a 33% increase nationwide.

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
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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.

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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.