http://www.sfgate.com/default/articl...ll-4229640.php
Arkastan's Congress is controlled by the Republicans now. First time in 100 years.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Senate voted Monday to allow concealed handguns in churches and other places of worship, rejecting complaints from a handful of Democratic lawmakers that it undermines the idea of the institutions being sanctuaries from violence.
By a 28-4 vote, the Republican-controlled Senate approved the legislation that would leave it up to individual places of worship to decide whether to allow concealed handguns inside. Churches are currently listed as places where concealed handguns are prohibited.
The proposal is among several aimed at loosening the state's firearms restrictions, including a bill filed Monday that would keep secret the list of Arkansas residents permitted to carry concealed handguns.
Sen. Bryan King, the sponsor of the guns in church bill, said the measure would help rural churches far from police or law enforcement that can't afford to hire security.
"This just gives each church the ability to handle their own security," King, R-Green Forest, told senators before the vote.
Of the 49 states that allow concealed handguns, Arkansas is among 10 that specifically prohibit them from churches, according to the National Rifle Association. Past efforts to allow guns in churches have failed in the Legislature, but gun rights advocates believe they're poised to change that now that Republicans are in control.
Eight Democrats voted for the measure in the Senate. Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe has indicated he'll likely sign the measure into law should it reach his desk.
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