We’ve been writing quite a bit about Question 9 in Massachusetts, which would repeal the state’s latest round of restrictive gun laws, but that’s not the only ballot question this November that deals with our right to keep and bear arms. In Arkansas, Issue 2 gives voters the opportunity to strengthen their state constitution’s language on gun ownership.
At the moment, Article 2, Section 5 of the Arkansas’ constitution states that “The citizens of this State shall have the right to keep and bear arms, for their common defense.”
State legislators want to update that language, which was first adopted in 1874, to provide more explicit protections for gun owners. They’re proposing to insert this language instead.
(a) The citizens of this State shall have the right to keep and bear arms, for:
(1) Their common defense;
(2) Lawful hunting and recreational use; and
(3) Any other lawful purpose.
(b) The right to keep and bear arms under subsection (a) of this section includes without limitation the possession and use of:
(1) Ammunition;
(2) Firearm accessories; and
(3) Firearm components.
(c) The right to keep and bear arms under subsection (a) of this section is a natural, fundamental, and individual right that shall not be infringed.”
I would have preferred the language explicitly mention individual self-defense, but if that’s not already covered under “common defense” then it’s certainly a part of “any other lawful purpose.”
That’s really my only quibble with the wording of Issue 2. The fact that it encompasses not just firearms but ammunition, accessories, and components is great, and referring to the right to keep and bear arms as a “natural, fundamental, and individual right” is a big plus as well.
I’ve only seen one pre-election poll that addressed the issues on the Arkansas ballot this year, but the good news is that it showed Issue 2 passing with a supermajority of voters.
The Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College Poll quizzed 1,217 likely voters in the state back in early August, and found Issue 2 was supported by 67 percent of respondents, with 23 percent opposed and another ten percent undecided.
That’s actually more support than what the poll found for amending the state constitution to only allow U.S. citizens to vote, and far more support than President Donald Trump received from the same sample. Trump is underwater with those likely voters, with just 46 percent expressing at least some support for his second term performance.
I can’t say that I’m surprised to see Issue 2 polling so well among Arkansans. The state is one of the 29 states that does not require a permit to carry, and though it still contains some questionable “gun-free zones” like bars and areas of business where alcohol is served for consumption, it can hardly be considered a bastion of support for gun control.
I’m relieved, though, that in what looks to be a tough environment for Republican candidates, support for the Second Amendment appears to be as strong as ever among Arkansas voters. The Second Amendment should be broadly popular no matter how unpopular one or both political parties are, and it sure looks like that’s the case in The Natural State these days.
Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their extreme gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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