In Arkansas, can a qualified retired law enforcement officer carry a concealed handgun in publicly owned buildings without an enhanced carry license?
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This page answers the general question as of 2018. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Arkansas law, with citations.
Plain-English summary
Arkansas generally bans firearms in publicly owned buildings under Ark. Code Ann. section 5-73-122, but the Code carves out a narrow exception for "enhanced" concealed-carry licensees. The enhanced scheme, in section 5-73-322, requires extra training (originally up to eight hours, with State Police-approved waivers) and a separate State Police endorsement. Senator Cecile Bledsoe asked whether qualified retired law enforcement officers, whose training and experience exceed what the enhanced license requires, get the same access to public buildings as enhanced licensees, even without going through the enhanced licensing process.
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge concluded that they did, under Arkansas law. The reasoning rested on three statutes read together. Section 5-73-122 prohibits firearms in publicly owned buildings, with an exception for enhanced licensees under section 5-73-322. Section 5-73-322(h)(1) exempts enhanced licensees from those building prohibitions when the firearm is a concealed handgun. And section 5-73-304(d) tells us that "[a] retired law enforcement officer is exempt from the licensing requirements of this subchapter if the retired law enforcement officer is permitted to carry a concealed handgun under section 12-15-202(b)." Because the enhanced license is one of the licensing requirements of that subchapter, the retired LEO does not need it. Read in pari materia, the exception in section 5-73-122 for enhanced licensees implicitly includes qualified retired LEOs who, by statute, are exempt from having to obtain the enhanced license at all.
The AG declined to address whether the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA), 18 U.S.C. section 926C, separately limits or expands these rights. Section 25-16-706 limits AG opinions to questions of state law.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2018. 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.
Background and statutory framework
Section 5-73-122(a) creates a baseline prohibition on carrying firearms in any publicly owned building or facility, with carve-outs for state and federal military personnel and for state, city, and county law enforcement officers and security guards in the course of their duties. The carve-outs in section 5-73-122(a)(1) cross-reference section 5-73-322 (enhanced license), section 5-73-306(5) (county courthouse employees), and section 16-21-147 (prosecutors).
Section 5-73-322 authorizes the State Police Director to approve a training course of up to eight hours, with up to four hours waivable for prior qualifying training. Completion plus the endorsement under section 5-73-322(h)(1) carries the substantive privilege at the heart of the question: the licensee is "exempted from the prohibitions and restrictions on . . . carrying a firearm in a publicly owned building or facility under section 5-73-122, if the firearm is a concealed handgun."
Section 5-73-304(d) is the licensing-exemption hinge for retired officers. To qualify, the retiree must meet section 12-15-202(b)(1)'s eight-prong test: retirement in good standing, prior authorization to carry a firearm on duty, current photographic identification from the agency, no federal firearm prohibition, fingerprints on file with national-screening authorization, completion of the state's active-officer training and qualification standards within the prior twelve months at the retiree's expense, ten years aggregate as a law enforcement officer or auxiliary officer before retirement, and not under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicating substances.
The connecting principle is in pari materia, the rule that statutes on the same subject must be read together harmoniously. The Arkansas Supreme Court applied that rule in Central Okla. Pipeline, Inc. v. Hawk Field Srvs., LLC and Mays v. Cole, the cases the AG cited.
Why the exemption flows through to publicly owned buildings
Reading the three statutes together produced the AG's result. Section 5-73-122 generally bars firearms in public buildings but exempts enhanced licensees. Section 5-73-322 says enhanced licensees are exempt from the public-building prohibitions when carrying a concealed handgun. Section 5-73-304(d) says a qualified retired LEO is exempt from the licensing requirements of the subchapter, which includes the enhanced license itself. Putting those together, the AG concluded that the substantive privilege of an enhanced licensee, including access to public buildings with a concealed handgun, attaches to a qualified retired LEO without that retiree needing to first go obtain an enhanced license he is statutorily exempt from needing.
The AG noted that the limits on what an enhanced license actually grants still apply. Sections 5-73-122(a)(3)(D), 5-73-322(b), and 5-73-322(h) carry restrictions on where and how the firearm may be carried even by an enhanced licensee. Whatever a licensee may not do in a particular publicly owned building, the retired LEO equally may not do.
What was outside the opinion's scope
LEOSA, 18 U.S.C. section 926C, lets qualified retired LEOs carry concealed firearms across state lines but allows states to prohibit carry on private property and on state or local government property. Whether Arkansas's enhanced licensing scheme or its public-building rules trigger or interact with LEOSA's safe harbor was a question the AG declined to answer, citing the statutory limit in section 25-16-706. AG opinions address state law; LEOSA is federal.
Common questions
Did the retired LEO need to actually go obtain an "enhanced" license to carry concealed in public buildings?
No. Under section 5-73-304(d), a qualified retired law enforcement officer was exempt from the licensing requirements of subchapter 5-73-3, which include the enhanced license under section 5-73-322. The retiree therefore got the enhanced licensee's substantive privileges without going through the licensing process.
Who counts as a "qualified retired law enforcement officer"?
The eight prongs come from section 12-15-202(b)(1). The retiree must have retired in good standing for reasons other than mental disability; must have been authorized to carry a firearm on duty; must carry the agency's photographic ID; must not be barred under federal law from possessing a firearm; must have fingerprints and screening authorization on file; must have met active-officer training standards within the past year at the retiree's own cost; must have at least ten aggregate years of service as a LEO or auxiliary officer before retirement; and must not be under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicating substances.
What "publicly owned buildings" did this opinion cover?
The opinion did not enumerate buildings. Section 5-73-122 broadly applies to publicly owned buildings and facilities, with internal cross-references to specific facilities and exceptions. The retiree's access tracked exactly the access an enhanced licensee would have, no more and no less.
What about federal law and LEOSA?
The AG explicitly did not opine on LEOSA. Section 25-16-706 limits AG opinions to state-law questions. A qualified retired LEO would still need to consider whether LEOSA's federal safe harbor was relevant to the activity in question, and Arkansas's permission under state law did not foreclose any separate federal restrictions or rights.
Does the opinion mean retired LEOs can ignore section 5-73-122 altogether?
No. The opinion read section 5-73-122 together with section 5-73-322 to allow retired LEOs the same building access enhanced licensees had. All of the limits applicable to enhanced licensees (section 5-73-122(a)(3)(D), section 5-73-322(b), section 5-73-322(h)) continued to apply.
Citations
Ark. Code Ann. sections 5-73-122, 5-73-122(a)(1), 5-73-122(a)(2), 5-73-122(a)(3)(D), 5-73-301(8), 5-73-304(d), 5-73-306(5), 5-73-322, 5-73-322(b), 5-73-322(g)(1), 5-73-322(g)(2), 5-73-322(h), 5-73-322(h)(1), 12-15-202(b), 12-15-202(b)(1), 16-21-147, 25-16-706; 18 U.S.C. section 926C; Central Okla. Pipeline, Inc. v. Hawk Field Srvs., LLC, 2012 Ark. 157, 400 S.W.3d 701; Mays v. Cole, 374 Ark. 532, 289 S.W.3d 1 (2008).
Source
Original opinion text
Opinion No. 2018-045
September 11, 2018
STATE OF ARKANSAS
ATTORNEY GENERAL
LESLIE RUTLEDGE
The Honorable Cecile Bledsoe
State Senator
709 Sky Mountain Drive
Rogers, AR 72756
Dear Senator Bledsoe:
You have requested my opinion regarding the authority of qualified retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms.
As background for your question, you note that the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004, known as "LEOSA" (18 U.S.C. § 926C) permits qualified officers to carry concealed firearms, but also allows states to prohibit carry on private property and state or local government property. You point out that Arkansas indeed prohibits the carrying of firearms in certain publicly-owned buildings, but the recently enacted "enhanced" version of the state's concealed-carry law allows licensees access to some of these locations. This has prompted you to ask the following question, which I have paraphrased:
Does the privilege set out in the enhanced version of Arkansas's concealed-carry law, which allows persons who have completed the required training to possess firearms in certain government buildings, extend to retired law enforcement officers, who have more experience and training than that required under the enhanced-licensing scheme?
RESPONSE
In my opinion, the answer to your question is "yes" under Arkansas law. A retired law enforcement officer who qualifies under Ark. Code Ann. § 12-15-202(b) to carry a concealed handgun may carry a concealed handgun in the same locations and subject to the same limitations as an "enhanced" concealed-carry licensee.
Regarding LEOSA, I cannot opine on the potential federal law implications of Arkansas's "enhanced" concealed-carry licensing scheme. The interpretation and application of LEOSA are matters falling outside the scope of an opinion from this office.
DISCUSSION
The carrying of firearms in certain publicly-owned buildings and facilities is generally prohibited by Ark. Code Ann. § 5-73-122. There are several exceptions to this prohibition. Section 5-73-122 states that the prohibition applies "[e]xcept as provided in § 5-73-322, § 5-73-306(5), § 16-21-147, and this section . . . ."
The relevant exception for purposes of your question is the first one listed, section 5-73-322. This Code section establishes a so-called "enhanced" licensing scheme for the carrying of concealed handguns that involves completion of a training course approved by the Director of the Department of Arkansas State Police. Those who complete the required training and obtain the necessary "endorsement" are "exempted from the prohibitions and restrictions on . . . carrying a firearm in a publicly owned building or facility under § 5-73-122, if the firearm is a concealed handgun . . . ."
Importantly, a retired law enforcement officer who meets the criteria to carry a concealed handgun is exempt from the "enhanced" licensing requirements:
A retired law enforcement officer is exempt from the licensing requirements of this subchapter if the retired law enforcement officer is permitted to carry a concealed handgun under § 12-15-202(b).
The "licensing requirements of this subchapter" plainly include the requirements under section 5-73-322 to obtain an "enhanced" license. Hence, a qualified retired law enforcement officer may carry a concealed handgun in the same locations as an "enhanced" license holder without obtaining an "enhanced" license.
Accordingly, when section 5-73-122 (the general prohibition on carrying firearms in public buildings and facilities) creates an exception for "enhanced" licensed holders, implicit in that exception is the authority for qualified retired law enforcement officers to carry in those same locations. I believe this reasonably follows from a reading of these provisions together, according to established rules of statutory interpretation.
In sum, it is my opinion that a retired law enforcement officer who qualifies under Ark. Code Ann. § 12-15-202(b) to carry a concealed handgun may carry a concealed handgun in the same locations and subject to the same limitations as an "enhanced" concealed-carry licensee.
I cannot opine, however, on the potential federal law implications of Arkansas's "enhanced" concealed-carry licensing scheme. The interpretation and application of LEOSA are matters falling outside the scope of an opinion from this office.
Sincerely,
LESLIE RUTLEDGE
Attorney General
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