House committee rejects bill to streamline restoration of firearm rights

A House committee voted down legislation aimed at making it easier for people with certain nonviolent felony convictions to regain firearm rights.

Representative Scott Richardson, sponsor of House Bill 10 57, told the panel he had revised the measure to address concerns from law enforcement by requiring that restoration be reflected in the NCIC system and that ACIC update NCIC records. "We addressed that concern, by making it available in the NCIC," Richardson said during his presentation.

Supporters said the bill would help nonviolent offenders who have completed their sentences rebuild their lives. Michael Chamblee, who identified himself during public comment as a veteran and longtime petitioner on restoration matters, told the committee, "I have been looking at this for 40 years" and urged members to give people a chance to prove they have changed.

But prosecutors and law-enforcement leaders urged rejection. Daniel Shue, elected prosecuting attorney for Sebastian County and president of the Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association, said the Arkansas Constitution vests pardon power in the governor and that a 1995 process already exists for restoration outside a pardon. Shue criticized the bill's court petition procedure because it would not require verification or notice to prosecutors: "In this particular bill, our issue... on page 5 dealing with filing the uniform petition ... the petition doesn't have to be verified," he said, adding that the prosecutor would not be notified and a judge in another county could decide a petition without full knowledge of the facts.

Gary Sipes, director of the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police, said law enforcement was not opposed to the idea that some rehabilitated people should regain rights but warned of risks to officers: "I'm sure this gentleman is a good person and he's not the one that we're worried about," Sipes said, pointing to the practical dangers officers confront on the street.

Jason Aaron, lieutenant colonel with the Arkansas State Police, said the executive branch currently handles pardons and related restoration and the bill would take that authority away: "The Arkansas State Police opposes this bill as well... There's already a process in place. It's through the executive branch of government to seek that pardon." Chris Walton, Saline County prosecutor, said the bill's long enumerated list of qualifying and disqualifying offenses omits several offenses of concern (for example, felony DWI and child endangerment) and that a judge would not have a screening process to consider a person's pattern of later misdemeanors or domestic incidents.

Lawmakers asked whether the bill could be reworked in interim study. Prosecutors suggested a collaborative rewrite with law enforcement and others; Shue said he thought such work could produce a better procedural approach.

Representative Richardson moved that the committee "do pass." After discussion and public testimony, the committee took a voice vote. The chair announced, "No. The no's have it. The bill has failed." The transcript does not list a roll-call tally.

Why it matters: The bill sought to create an easier path for some Arkansans to regain firearm rights without a governor's pardon. Supporters framed the measure as an opportunity for redemption; opponents cited due-process safeguards, the existing 1995 process, and public-safety risks to officers and the public.

What comes next: Some members suggested working with prosecutors and law-enforcement stakeholders during the interim to craft a narrower procedural approach; the committee did not advance HB 10 57.