***UDATE: Arkansas Business has now taken the link off their site. That was quick. Editor Gwen Moritz now says to email her if folks want a copy.


Joshua Minso

Concealed carry image via Shutterstock

The list of concealed-carry permit holders is now secret, exempted from the state Freedom of Information Act. The new law passed the House earlier this week and Lt. Gov. Mark Darr, acting as governor while Gov. Mike Beebe was out of town, signed it into law Friday.

In the mean time, interested parties had their last chance last week to acquire the list and many did. That includes Gwen Moritz, editor at Arkansas Business, who published a link (scroll down to bottom) to the list today.


It will be interesting to see the reaction. This blog published the publicly available list of concealed-carry permit holders in 2009, prompting a wave of controversy, including death threats to staff members. The list was eventually removed from the site because of concerns raised about the publication of specific addresses. The controversy led at the time to a change in the law, making names and zip codes but not full addresses publicly available.