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Legal Information: Arkansas

State Gun Laws

Updated: 
January 3, 2024

What is the penalty if the abuser has a firearm in violation of the law?

If the abuser violates Arkansas’s law that makes it illegal to have a firearm due to a felony conviction, an adjudication of being mentally ill, or being involuntarily committed to a mental institution, it is a Class A misdemeanor. However, it rises to a Class B felony if:

  • the person has a prior violent felony conviction;
  • the person’s current possession of a firearm involves the commission of another crime; or
  • the person has been previously convicted under this section or a similar provision from another jurisdiction.1

It would be a less serious felony, Class D, if s/he has been previously convicted of a felony but his/her present conduct or the prior felony conviction does not fall within the circumstances listed above.2

1 A.C.A. § 5-73-103(c)(1), (c)(3)
2 A.C.A. § 5-73-103(c)(2)