Puryear said Tuesday that he introduced the bill to encourage more shooting opportunities for Arkansas youth, using the state’s equine competition policy as a legislative outline. But nondescript language and Puryear’s inability to explain how granting immunity would improve safety at the locations sent the bill back to the drawing board.

Committee members raised concerns about the bill’s necessity, a lack of recourse possible for victims, vagueness regarding for-profit or nonprofit shooting ranges and “youth” being omitted from the proposal.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission records statewide youth shooting sports, such as trap shooting. Teams commonly represent schools, 4-H clubs, church youth groups and other organizations, but anyone can form a group as long as it meets a set of requirements. 

Puryear said he was unaware of any issues affecting existing shooting ranges, but said he thought the bill would offer “peace of mind” to someone considering opening their property for youth shooting sports, but who was afraid of potential litigation.

“Litigation serves a purpose,” Rep. Andrew Collins, D-Little Rock, said. “One of the purposes is that the threat of litigation, if you are negligent, encourages people to not be negligent so they exercise reasonable care when they’re hosting these events.”

Collins also asked Puryear about victims having no recourse under the proposed legislation, to which he said the people who open their land to youth shooting sports get nothing in return for it and are going to “do the best they can to have kids be in a safe environment.”

The version of the bill presented Tuesday didn’t differentiate between for-profit or nonprofit situations, despite Puryear’s indications that the intent of the bill was solely for nonprofit circumstances.

“Because this isn’t limited, it now applies to for-profit shooting ranges,” Rep. Ashley Hudson, D-Little Rock, said. “…It doesn’t say anything about whether or not these events are required to carry insurance. That would mean, for example, if there is a youth shooting event and one kid turned and was pretending to shoot a gun at another kid, just thought it was an unloaded weapon, and shot that kid and hurt them, that may be negligent on behalf of the person who put on the event.”

Answering a subsequent question about the equine competition law his proposal was based on, Puryear said the language would cover the shooting range landowner or event venue owner in a way similar to existing policy.

When Rep. Nicole Clowney, D-Fayetteville, said the committee needed to “recognize there are inherent differences between horses and guns — one is a weapon that is created to harm,” Puryear said he thought that horses are “way more dangerous than guns.”

Puryear didn’t provide any statistics to the committee that the bill would increase youth shooting sports opportunities. He also said he didn’t know of comparable policies in other states. Puryear said his proposal was based on his personal experience as someone who previously offered his property as a shooting range.

Before Puryear agreed to pull his bill for revision, he first denied the opportunity, which was followed by a motion to table the bill that the committee rejected.

Other business

Though several bills were listed on the committee’s Tuesday agenda, only one other bill was introduced Tuesday, and members approved the redesignation of the 14th Judicial District without discussion.

Members were expecting Chief Supreme Justice Karen Baker to make an appearance, but chair Rep. Carol Dalby, R-Texarkana, told the committee that Baker had a scheduling conflict and she would organize a visit at a later date.

Baker, the first woman elected to the highest position on the state’s highest court, has been embroiled in controversy since attempting to terminate 10 court employees, including its top administrator, shortly after taking office Jan. 1. 

Subsequent actions, including a majority opinion from the state supreme court denying Baker’s authority and Baker countering their word with another order invalidating the court’s efforts, has added to the ongoing dispute among justices.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

SUBSCRIBE