When Arkansas voters entered the polling booths on Tuesday, they did not merely reaffirm their right to own a firearm , they cast their votes to protect virtually everything associated with it.
By an overwhelming margin of 70.8% to 29.2%, Arkansas residents approved ballot Measure 2, amending the state constitution to explicitly extend protections to ammunition, accessories, and replacement parts alongside firearms themselves. Final tallies revealed that more than 612,000 voters supported the measure, while 252,650 voted in opposition.
Scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027, the updated amendment guarantees constitutional protection for target practice, hunting, and “any other lawful purpose.” The revised language formally designates the right to keep and bear arms as a “natural, fundamental, and individual right that shall not be infringed.”
The decisive victory drew immediate praise from gun rights organizations, including the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, which conducted an extensive campaign in support of the measure.
“We are proud of voters in the Natural State,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb stated. “By a wide margin, Arkansas citizens reaffirmed their rights so that future generations of gun owners in the state will not only share this right, but never worry about it ever being eroded. The good people of Arkansas turned out to vote when they needed to.”
Gottlieb characterized the opposition to Measure 2 as relying on “weak and emotional arguments,” asserting that the state’s electorate recognized the shortcomings of the opposition’s campaign.
“This is the kind of result you can get when voters turn out,” Gottlieb said. “Arkansas has been known by various nicknames over the years, and today we could add one more: The Freedom State. Arkansas just sent a message to the entire country, that citizens in this great state truly understand what freedom is all about, and they just strengthened in their state constitution.”
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