Can a concealed-carry licensee leave a handgun in their car parked at an Arkansas county or city parking lot?
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This page answers the general question as of 2017. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Arkansas law, with citations.
Plain-English summary
Representative R. Trevor Drown asked whether Act 1078 of 2015's "parking lot exception" applied to parking lots owned by counties and cities. The Act amended several criminal statutes and concealed-carry provisions to allow licensees to leave concealed handguns in their locked, unattended motor vehicles in publicly owned parking lots, even when the surrounding building might otherwise be off-limits.
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge concluded the answer was yes. The Act amended three statutes:
- Ark. Code Ann. § 5-73-119 (possession by minors or on school property)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 5-73-122 (possession in publicly owned buildings or facilities)
- Ark. Code Ann. § 5-73-306 (concealed-carry prohibited places)
Each of those statutes was amended to add an exception for "publicly owned and maintained" parking lots. The definition of parking lot in each was essentially the same: an "area" or "structure" or "part of a structure" "designated" or "intended" for parking motor vehicles. The exception also extends to "a designated drop-off zone for children at a school."
Counties and cities own parking lots. They maintain them. So the AG read the plain text as covering county and city parking lots without qualification.
The practical effect: a concealed-carry licensee can park at a county courthouse, city hall, or other public lot, leave their handgun concealed in the locked, unattended car, and walk into the building without their handgun in violation of the building's prohibition on weapons. The handgun must stay in the car.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2017. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Common questions
Q: What did Act 1078 of 2015 actually do?
A: It carved out a narrow exception to several gun-prohibition statutes. Before Act 1078, leaving a handgun in your car in a courthouse parking lot could potentially be charged the same as bringing it inside the courthouse. After Act 1078, the locked-and-unattended vehicle in a publicly owned parking lot was treated separately and was lawful for licensees.
Q: What does "concealed" mean here?
A: Under Ark. Code Ann. § 5-73-301(2), "concealed" means "to cover from observation so as to prevent public view." So the handgun has to be hidden from view (under a seat, in a closed center console, in the trunk, in a glove compartment), not visible through the window.
Q: Does it have to be locked AND unattended?
A: Yes. The statutory text is "locked and unattended motor vehicle." Both conditions matter. If the licensee leaves the car unlocked, or sits in the car with the handgun, the exception does not apply.
Q: Does this apply to school parking lots?
A: The question Drown asked was about county and city government lots specifically. School parking is governed by § 5-73-119, which Act 1078 also amended. The drop-off zone language in the parking lot definition suggests the exception extends to schools. But the AG's answer in this opinion was specifically about county and city government parking, not schools.
Q: Can a county or city ban concealed-carry vehicles from its parking lot anyway?
A: The opinion does not directly address that. Generally, statutory exceptions to criminal liability cannot be overridden by ordinance for prohibited conduct, but a county or city's authority to regulate parking on its own property is governed by other rules. A licensee acting within Act 1078's exception would not face criminal prosecution under §§ 5-73-119, -122, or -306; whether a county could, for example, post a "no firearms in vehicles" sign and tow violators is a different question.
Q: Why did the legislature feel the need to add this carve-out?
A: Because the underlying statutes broadly prohibited possession on the "premises" of certain places, and the question whether a parking lot is part of the premises had been unsettled. Act 1078 settled the issue: a parking lot, even attached to a prohibited building, is treated separately, and a vehicle there is treated separately again, so long as the firearm stays locked in the car.
Background and statutory framework
The Arkansas concealed-carry law has been amended steadily since the late 1990s, gradually expanding both the rights of licensees and the carve-outs for sensitive locations. Act 1078's parking-lot exception was part of a 2015 package that aimed to reduce the practical conflicts a commuter licensee faced. Without it, a licensee driving to a courthouse or city hall had to either leave their handgun at home, leave it openly visible, or risk prosecution.
The opinion's reading is straightforward statutory construction: the parking-lot definition speaks of "publicly owned and maintained" lots, county and city lots are publicly owned and maintained, so they are covered. MacSteel Div. of Quanex v. Arkansas Okla. Gas Corp. (2005) is cited for the standard rule that statutes are construed by their plain meaning when the language is clear.
Citations
- Act 1078 of 2015
- Ark. Code Ann. §§ 5-73-119, -122, -306
- Ark. Code Ann. § 5-73-301(2), (6)
- MacSteel Div. of Quanex v. Ark. Okla. Gas Corp., 363 Ark. 22 (2005)
- Op. Att'y Gen. 2015-099 (prior opinion on Act 1078)
Source
Original opinion text
Opinion No. 2016-139
February 23, 2017
STATE OF ARKANSAS
ATTORNEY GENERAL
LESLIE RUTLEDGE
The Honorable R. Trevor Drown
State Representative
P. 0. Box 1182
Dover, AR 72837-1182
Dear Representative Drown:
This is in response to your request for an opinion concerning Act 1078 of 2015.
You have asked, specifically: "Does this legislation include parking lots of county
or city governments?"
RESPONSE
The so-called "parking lot exception" under Act 1078 of 2015 includes parking
lots that are publicly owned and maintained. It is therefore my opinion that the
answer to your question is "yes" regarding parking lots that are owned and
maintained by counties and cities.
DISCUSSION
Act 1078 of 2015 amended several criminal statutes relating to the possession of
weapons and several statutes that are part of the concealed handgun licensing law
to address concealed handguns in motor vehicles. 1 Both the criminal statutes and
the concealed handgun law identify certain places where-or circumstances under
which-the prohibitions do not apply. Act 1078 amended the lists of exceptions
1 The statutes amended by Act 1078 are Ark. Code Ann. §§ 5-73-119 (Repl. 2016) (regarding
possession by minors or on school property), 5-73-122 (Repl. 2016) (possession in publicly
owned buildings or facilities), and 5-73-306 (Repl. 2016) (prohibited places under the concealed-
carry law).
323 CENTER STREET, SUITE 200 · LITTLE R.OCK, ARKANSAS 72201
TELEPHONE (501) 682-2007 · FAX (501) 682-8084
ARKANSASAG.GOV The Honorable R. Trevor Drown
State Representative
Opinion No. 2016-139
Page2
to allow a concealed-carry licensee to leave his concealed handgun in his "locked
and unattended motor vehicle" in a "publicly owned and maintained parking lot. "2
The definition of "parking lot" for purposes of this so-called "parking lot
exception" is essentially the same under each of the statutes, as amended by Act
1078. It means an "area" or "structure" or "part of a structure" that is
"designated" or "intended" "for the parking of motor vehicles ... .''3 The parking
lot exception thus applies to publicly-owned and maintained areas or structures
designated or intended for parking.4
The meaning of Act 1078 is clear from the plain language of the amended
statutes.5 As I have previously observed, the Act allows a concealed-carry
licensee to leave his concealed handgun hidden from view in his locked and
unattended motor vehicle in a publicly owned parking lot without fear of either
prosecution or license revocation. 6
The answer to your particular question is therefore "yes." In my opinion, the so-
called "parking lot exception" under Act 1078 of 2015 includes parking lots that
are owned and maintained by counties and cities.
Sincerely,
~::~
Attorney General
2 Id. at §§ 5-73-119(e)(12)(A), 5-73-122(a)(3)(C)(i), and 5-73-306(13)(B)(v), (18)(B)(ii)
(emphasis added).
3 Id. at§§ 5-73-119(e)(12)(B)(i), 5-73-122(a)(3)(C)(ii)(a), and 5-73-301(6).
4 The exception also extends to "a designated drop-off zone for children at a school." Id.
5 The first rule in considering the meaning of a statute is to construe it just as it reads, giving the
words their ordinary meaning and usually accepted meaning in common language. MacSteel Div.
of Quanex v. Arkansas Okla. Gas Corp., 363 Ark. 22, 210 S.W.3d 878 (2005).
6 Op. Att'y Gen. 2015-099 at 8. "Concealed" is defined by the concealed handgun law as "to
cover from observation so as to prevent public view." Ark. Code Ann.§ 5-73-301(2).
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