Head of the Arkansas State Police Supports 2nd Amendment Rights

The director of the Arkansas State Police says guns should be allowed to be carried in state parks by law-abiding citizens in the wake of a mother and father knifed to death at Devil’s Den State Park in July.

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“Unfortunately, we do deal with bad people who have weapons. The more good people we have with weapons, the better off we are,” Col. Hagar testified before the Game & Fish/State Police legislative subcommittee August 14, 2025.

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Col. Hagar made it clear that he supports the right of law-abiding citizens to carry firearms, even in places currently restricted under state law; for example, gun-free zones—public locations arbitrarily declared by politicians to be off-limits to guns, naively thinking criminals will abide by that legal declaration, when in fact, only law-abiding citizens will, thereby putting themselves in harm’s way without the ability to defend themselves against a criminal’s deadly threat.

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Col. Hagar says stricter gun control does not lead to safer communities. He cited cities and states with heavy firearm restrictions that still experience high crime rates. “One would think if you restrain guns, then there should be less gun crime. That’s just not the case,” Col. Hagar said. “And we see that—that’s not an opinion, that’s fact.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, The 5 Elements of Self-Defense Law ]

Col. Hagar emphasized that law enforcement officers do not view armed, law-abiding citizens as a threat. “As a police officer, I’ve never minded encountering a good law-abiding citizen who has a weapon. Ever. I’ve never felt threatened by that at all,” he said.

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He argued that the presence of armed citizens deters criminals from targeting Arkansas residents, noting that would-be offenders often hesitate because they know many households are armed and prepared. “The ability to pull off a crime like that is impeded significantly just by the fear of what’s waiting on the other side,” he said.

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