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Arkansas House adopts constitutional amendment to strengthen right to keep and bear arms
Summary
The Arkansas House voted to adopt Senate Joint Resolution 11, which would amend Article II, Section 5 of the state constitution to explicitly protect an individual right to keep and bear arms, including ammunition and accessories. Rep. Matt Duffield framed the measure as a broadening of state protections; the House approved it 86-10-2.
The Arkansas House on the floor voted to adopt Senate Joint Resolution 11, a proposed constitutional amendment that declares an individual right to keep and bear arms "for our common defense, lawful hunting, recreational use, and any other lawful purpose," Representative Matt Duffield said during debate.
Duffield, the bill sponsor, said the amendment would expand protections to include ammunition and accessories and that the measure would take effect Jan. 1, 2027 if approved by voters. "It is a natural, fundamental, and individual right that shall not be infringed," Duffield said on the House floor.
Duffield traced the amendment’s purpose to federal case law and historical arguments about armed citizenship, citing decisions such as District of Columbia v. Heller, McDonald v. City of Chicago and Bruen while urging colleagues to let Arkansas voters decide.
House members cast ballots after Duffield closed debate. The clerk reported 86 yays, 10 nays and 2 present; the resolution was adopted by the House and will proceed through the constitutional amendment process described in state law.
The measure drew no extended floor amendments recorded in the transcript. A House clerk prepared the machine and read the final tally before the chamber recessed to continue other business.
If approved by the legislature and the voters under Arkansas law, the change would alter the state constitution’s language in Article II, Section 5; the transcript records Duffield’s presentation and the final vote, but does not record subsequent administrative steps such as scheduling a public referendum.
