Governor Mike Beebe is neither vetoing, nor signing a law to make a list of concealed handgun permit holders a secret.
Instead, he’ll let the law take effect without his signature.
Matt DeCample, the Governor’s spokesman said Thursday that the Governor is against the law, because he says there hasn’t been any instances of permit holders being victimized due to their information being out there.
“However, there was some concern that was raised four years ago, and so the Governor was okay restricting that to a degree. And then in the past four years since that compromise, there haven’t been any problems with it. So, we understand the concern that people have but we don’t see any evidence in Arkansas of it being a problem,” DeCample said.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Senator Bruce Holland of Greenwood, has said he was hopeful the Governor would sign the bill given its overwhelming support in both the House and Senate.
Without the governor’s signature, the law will go into effect next week. Had the governor vetoed the legislation, it’s likely his veto would have been overturned. This is the second time Beebe has left a piece of legislation unsigned, DeCample said.
