Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1057 3
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By: Representative R. Scott Richardson 5
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING POSSESSION OF A 9
FIREARM BY CERTAIN PERSONS; TO PERMIT THE RESTORATION 10
OF THE RIGHT TO POSSESS A FIREARM TO A NONVIOLENT 11
FELON; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 12
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Subtitle 15
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING POSSESSION 16
OF A FIREARM BY CERTAIN PERSONS; AND TO 17
PERMIT THE RESTORATION OF THE RIGHT TO 18
POSSESS A FIREARM TO A NONVIOLENT FELON. 19
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 21
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 5 -73-103 is amended to read as follows: 23
5-73-103. Possession of firearms by certain persons. 24
(a) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section or unless 25
authorized by and subject to such conditions as prescribed by the Governor, 26
or his or her designee, or the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 27
Firearms, and Explosives, or other bureau or office designated by the United 28
States Department of Justice, no person shall possess or own any a firearm 29
who has been: 30
(1) Convicted of a felony , with the exception of: 31
(A) An antitrust violation; 32
(B) An unfair trade practice; 33
(C) Restraint of trade; or 34
(D) Another offense relating to the regulation of business 35
practices; 36 HB1057
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(2) Adjudicated mentally ill; or 1
(3) Committed involuntarily to any a mental institution. 2
(b)(1) Except as provided in subdivisions (b)(2) and (3) of this 3
section, a determination by a jury or a court that a person committed a 4
felony constitutes a conviction for purposes of subsection (a) of this 5
section even though the court suspended imposition of sentence or placed the 6
defendant on probation. 7
(2) Subdivision (b)(1) of this section does not apply to a 8
person whose case was dismissed and expunged under § 16 -93-301 et seq. or § 9
16-98-303(g). 10
(3) The determination by the jury or court that the person 11
committed a felony does not constitute a conviction for purposes of 12
subsection (a) of this section if the person is subsequently granted a pardon 13
explicitly restoring the ability to possess a firearm. 14
(c)(1) A person who violates this section commits a Class B felony if: 15
(A) The person has a prior violent felony conviction; 16
(B) The person's current possession of a firearm involves 17
the commission of another crime; 18
(C) The person has a prior felony conviction for an 19
offense that had as an element of the offense the use or possession of a 20
deadly weapon; or 21
(D) The person has been previously convicted under this 22
section or a similar provision from another jurisdiction. 23
(2) A person who violates this section commits a Class D felony 24
if he or she has been previously convicted of a felony and his or her present 25
conduct or the prior felony conviction does not fall within subdivision 26
(c)(1) of this section. 27
(3) Otherwise, the person commits a Class A misdemeanor. 28
(d) The Governor may restore without granting a pardon the right of a 29
convicted felon or an adjudicated delinquent to own and possess a firearm 30
upon the recommendation of the chief law enforcement officer in the 31
jurisdiction in which the person resides, so long as the underlying felony or 32
delinquency adjudication: The right of a convicted felon or an adjudicated 33
delinquent to own and possess a firearm shall be automatically restored by 34
the Department of Public Safety, if: 35
(1) Did The underlying felony or delinquency adjudication did 36 HB1057
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not involve the use of a weapon violence and involved any felony that is not 1
listed below or contained in the following chapters or subchapters ; and: 2
(A) Homicide, § 5-10-101 et seq.; 3
(B) Kidnapping and related offenses, § 5 -11-101 et seq.; 4
(C) Robbery, § 5-12-101 et seq.; 5
(D) Assault and battery, § 5 -13-101 et seq.; 6
(E) Sexual offenses, § 5 -14-101 et seq.; 7
(F) Voyeurism offenses, § 5 -16-101 et seq.; 8
(G) Death threats, § 5 -17-101 et seq.; 9
(H) The Human Trafficking Act of 2013, § 5 -18-101 et seq.; 10
(I) Domestic battering and assault, § 5 -26-301 et seq.; 11
(J) Custody and visitation, § 5 -26-501 et seq.; 12
(K) The Arkansas Protection of Children Against 13
Exploitation Act of 1979, § 5 -27-301 et seq.; 14
(L) Exposing a child to a chemical substance or 15
methamphetamine, § 5 -27-230; 16
(M) Use of children in sexual performances, § 5 -27-401 et 17
seq.; 18
(N) Computer crimes against minors, § 5 -27-601 et seq.; 19
(O) Abuse of adults, § 5 -28-101 et seq.; 20
(P) Damage or destruction of property, § 5 -38-101 et seq.; 21
(Q) Causing a catastrophe, § 5 -38-202; 22
(R) Arson, § 5-38-301; 23
(S) Residential burglary, § 5 -39-201; 24
(T) Aggravated residential burglary, § 5 -39-204; 25
(U) Treason, § 5-51-201; 26
(V) First degree escape, § 5 -54-110, second degree escape, 27
§ 5-54-111, third degree escape, § 5 -54-112, and permitting escape in the 28
first degree, § 5-54-113; 29
(W) Fleeing, § 5-54-125; 30
(X) Killing or injuring animals used by law enforcement or 31
search and rescue dogs, § 5 -54-126; 32
(Y) Terrorism, § 5-54-201 et seq.; 33
(Z) Animals, § 5-62-101 et seq.; 34
(AA) Trafficking a controlled substance, § 5 -64-440; 35
(BB) Aggravated riot, § 5 -71-202; 36 HB1057
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(CC) Stalking, § 5-71-229; 1
(DD) Weapons, § 5-73-101 et seq.; 2
(EE) The Arkansas Criminal Gang, Organization, or 3
Enterprise Act, § 5-74-101 et seq.; 4
(FF) A felony that requires a person to register as a sex 5
offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act of 1997, § 12 -12-901 et 6
seq.; 7
(GG) A serious felony involving violence as defined in § 8
5-4-501(c)(2) or a felony involving violence as defined in § 5 -4-501(d)(2); 9
(HH) An attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit any 10
of the felonies listed in subdivisions (d)(1) of this section, if the 11
attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy itself is a felony; or 12
(II) A felony traffic offense committed in a motor vehicle 13
if the person was a holder of a commercial learner's permit or a commercial 14
driver's license at the time the felony traffic offense was committed. 15
(2) Occurred The underlying felony or delinquency adjudication 16
for an offense that would constitute a felony occurred more than eight (8) 17
ten (10) years ago.; and 18
(3) The convicted felon or adjudicated delinquent completed the 19
terms of his or her sentence no less than ten (10) years ago. 20
(e) As used in this section, “felony” means any state or federal 21
felony, excluding a federal or state felony offense for which the person 22
convicted has completed his or her sentence and pertaining to: 23
(1) An antitrust violation; 24
(2) An unfair trade practice; 25
(3) Restraint of trade; or 26
(4) Another offense relating to the regulation of business 27
practices. 28
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