Can my city ban guns at a kids' soccer game in a city park, and what about a private league that rented the field?

Plain-English summary

Representative Henley asked about firearms at children's athletic events in municipal parks. For the question whether a person may carry a loaded firearm at such an event, the Attorney General incorporated Opinion 2025-031 by reference. This opinion does not restate that earlier opinion's conclusion or draw a field-versus-building distinction.

A municipality cannot prohibit firearms in the park during the event because A.C.A. § 14-54-1411 preempts local firearm regulations, apart from the statutory exception for emergency ordinances during a governor-proclaimed state of emergency. A private organization renting or reserving part of the park is different: it may prohibit firearms there only if its control of the area is sufficient to lawfully exclude others under A.C.A. § 5-39-203. The opinion identifies a valid agreement giving temporary control over a specific area and clear notice by signs or words as necessary conditions. It cautions that proving control of an open athletic field may be difficult.

A separate state law addresses machine guns. A.C.A. § 5-73-205 creates a rebuttable presumption of offensive or aggressive purpose in specified circumstances, including possession away from the possessor's bona fide permanent residence or business. The opinion says possession or use for that purpose is a felony. PDF footnote 2 quotes A.C.A. § 5-73-204, which provides imprisonment of at least ten years. The narrow ammunition-testing exception in § 5-73-205(b) removes the presumption if its conditions are met. Other rebuttal factors have not been addressed by an Arkansas or federal court, according to the opinion.

What this means for you

If you work for a city

The Attorney General says the city cannot impose its own firearm prohibition for a park athletic event under the ordinary circumstances described. Consult the incorporated Opinion 2025-031 for the separate question of whether particular carrying is permitted under state law.

If you organize an event on rented park space

Review the reservation agreement and the area it actually gives you control over. The opinion says you need a temporary right to exclude others and clear notice of a firearms restriction before criminal trespass could apply. An open field may make the necessary control hard to establish.

If you attend the event

This opinion does not itself decide whether your particular firearm carry is lawful; it refers that question to Opinion 2025-031. It does say a city cannot enact its own park-event firearm ban and a private renter's ability to exclude firearms depends on its control and notice. Machine-gun possession raises the separate statutory presumption described above.

Common questions

Can a city prohibit firearms during a game at its park?
The Attorney General says no under A.C.A. § 14-54-1411, except for the statute's limited emergency-ordinance provision.

Can a private league renting a field prohibit firearms?
Possibly. It must have sufficient temporary control to lawfully exclude people under the criminal-trespass statute and provide clear notice. A reservation alone does not establish that level of control.

Does the ammunition-testing exception define the only way to rebut the machine-gun presumption? No. The opinion says the statutory exception removes the presumption when its conditions are met. For other circumstances, rebuttal would require a clear, lawful, non-threatening reason consistent with state and federal law; it says courts have not identified the governing factors.

What penalty does the opinion identify for offensive or aggressive machine-gun possession or use? The opinion calls it a felony. Its PDF footnote quotes A.C.A. § 5-73-204: imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a term of not less than ten years.

Background and statutory framework

A.C.A. § 14-54-1411 governs state preemption of local firearm regulations. A.C.A. § 5-39-203 supplies the criminal-trespass rule that may matter for a private renter with sufficient control. The Uniform Machine Gun Act provisions discussed are A.C.A. §§ 5-73-201 through 5-73-205. The opinion incorporates Opinion 2025-031 for its first question without restating that opinion's answer.

Source

• Official opinion search: https://arkansasag.gov/divisions/opinions-foia/attorney-general-opinions-search/ (Opinion No. 2025-051; PDF consulted for footnotes).

Original opinion text

TIM GRIFFIN
ATTORNEY GENERAL

Opinion No. 2025-051

November 19, 2025

The Honorable Dolly Henley
State Representative
Post Office Box 128
Washington, Arkansas 71862

Dear Representative Henley:

I am writing in response to your request for an opinion on the legality of carrying of a loaded firearm or other deadly weapon at a children’s athletic event held in a municipal park. You have relayed concerns expressed by law enforcement and a mayor in your district, as well as by parents who (1) have expressed discomfort with an individual openly carrying firearms during these events and (2) fear for the safety of participants and spectators.

Against this background, you ask the following questions:

1. Is it permissible for a person to carry a loaded firearm or other deadly weapon, whether
   concealed or carried openly, in the portions of a municipally owned or maintained park
   containing a sports field where an athletic event or practice is occurring at the time?

   Brief response: This question was previously answered in Opinion 2025-031, which is
   incorporated by reference and attached for your convenience.

2. Does a municipality have the authority to prohibit firearms, whether concealed or carried
   openly, in the portion of a municipally owned or maintained park containing a sports field
   when an athletic event or practice occurs for the duration of the athletic event or practice?

   Brief response: No, under A.C.A. § 14-54-1411, municipalities are preempted from
   enacting their own firearm regulations.

3. If an organization or entity other than a local government that owns or maintains a park is
   conducting an athletic event or practice by renting or reserving a portion of the municipal
   park, does that organization or entity have the right to prohibit firearms, whether concealed
   or carried openly, in the portion of the municipal park it has rented or reserved for the
   duration of the athletic event or practice?

                         BOB R. BROOKS JR. JUSTICE BUILDING
                             101 WEST CAPITOL AVENUE
                           LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS 72201
   

The Honorable Dolly Henley
State Representative
Opinion No. 2025-051
Page 2

Brief response: No, a private organization or nongovernmental entity that rents or reserves a portion of a municipal park for an event—such as an athletic event or practice—may not prohibit the possession of firearms, whether concealed or carried openly, within the area it temporarily controls, unless, and only if, it is able to exercise a level of control over that area to lawfully exclude others under A.C.A. § 5-39-203, the criminal trespass statute.

4. Does the analysis change for the first three questions if the firearm is a machine gun, as
   described in the Uniform Machine Gun Act, A.C.A. § 5-73-201 et seq.?

   Brief response: Yes, the analysis changes if the firearm is a machine gun, as Arkansas
   law presumes possession of a machine gun in public places—like a
   municipal park—to be for an offensive or aggressive purpose under
   A.C.A. § 5-73-205, regardless of whether the weapon is loaded. Any
   rebuttal of the presumption would depend on demonstrating a clear,
   lawful, and non-threatening reason for possession that is consistent with
   both the Uniform Machine Gun Act and federal firearm regulations.

DISCUSSION

Question 1: Is it permissible for a person to carry a loaded firearm or other deadly weapon, whether concealed or carried openly, in the portions of a municipally owned or maintained park containing a sports field where an athletic event or practice is occurring at the time?

This question was previously addressed in Opinion 2025-031, which is incorporated by reference and attached for your convenience.

Question 2: Does a municipality have the authority to prohibit firearms, whether concealed or carried openly, in the portion of a municipally owned or maintained park containing a sports field where an athletic event or practice occurs for the duration of the athletic event or practice?

No, a municipality does not have the authority to prohibit firearms in municipal parks. This limitation arises from the express preemption found in A.C.A. § 14-54-1411, which bars any local unit of government—including cities, towns, and counties—from enacting ordinances or regulations that pertain to “the ownership, transfer, transportation, carrying, or possession” of firearms, ammunition, or firearm components, except as otherwise provided by state or federal law. Subsection 14-54-1411(c) provides a limited exception for emergency ordinances enacted during a state of emergency proclaimed by the governor, but absent such an emergency, municipalities are barred from regulating firearms in municipal parks or elsewhere within their jurisdiction.

Question 3: If an organization or entity other than a local government that owns or maintains a park is conducting an athletic event or practice by renting or reserving a portion of the

The Honorable Dolly Henley
State Representative
Opinion No. 2025-051
Page 3

municipal park, does that organization or entity have the right to prohibit firearms, whether concealed or carried openly, in the portion of the municipal park it has rented or reserved for the duration of the athletic event or practice?

No, a private organization or nongovernmental entity that rents or reserves a portion of a municipal park for an event—such as an athletic event or practice—may not prohibit the possession of firearms, whether concealed or carried openly, within the area it temporarily controls, unless, and only if, it is able to exercise a level of control over that area to lawfully exclude others under A.C.A. § 5-39-203, the criminal trespass statute.

Under A.C.A. § 5-39-203 (criminal trespass), a person commits criminal trespass by entering or remaining unlawfully on premises owned or leased by another after being lawfully notified that his or her presence is prohibited. This provision does not limit its application to ownership interests; rather it extends to temporary possessory interests as well, including rented or reserved areas of a public space.

To legally prohibit firearms in a rented or reserved area of a municipal park, the entity must satisfy two conditions:

1. The entity must have a valid rental or reservation agreement granting it temporary control over a specific area of the municipal park for the duration of the event or practice. The control must be like that of a lessee or licensee, such that the entity can enforce rules over the space, including the exclusion of weapons.

2. The entity must provide clear notice that firearms are prohibited. This notice may be accomplished through conspicuous signage at entry points around the perimeter of the reserved area or through verbal communication.

If an individual enters or remains in the reserved area with a firearm after being notified that firearms are not allowed, that person could face criminal trespass charges, even though the property is publicly owned. However, enforcing such restrictions may be challenging. Athletic fields are open and unenclosed spaces. Establishing the level of control necessary to support a criminal trespass charge may be difficult, particularly because activities of this nature have traditionally taken place in areas that remain open and accessible to the public.

Question 4: Does the analysis change for the first three questions if the firearm is a machine gun, as described in the Uniform Machine Gun Act, A.C.A. § 5-73-201 et seq.?

Yes, the analysis changes if the firearm is a machine gun, as defined by the Uniform Machine Gun Act.1 Under the Act, possession or use of a machine gun for an offensive or aggressive purpose

1
A.C.A. § 5-73-202(2) (“‘Machine gun’ means a weapon of any description by whatever name known, loaded or unloaded, from which more than five (5) shots or bullets may be rapidly, or semi-automatically, discharged from a magazine, by a single function of the firing device[.]”).

The Honorable Dolly Henley
State Representative
Opinion No. 2025-051
Page 4

constitutes a felony offense.2 Importantly, the Act establishes a rebuttable presumption that such possession or use is for an offensive or aggressive purpose under certain specific situations.

According to A.C.A. § 5-73-205(a), possession or use of a machine gun is presumed to be for an offensive or aggressive purpose in the following situations:

1. When the machine gun is found on premises not owned or rented as a bona fide permanent residence or business by the person possessing it;

2. When the machine gun is in the possession of or used by an unnaturalized foreign-born person;

3. When the machine gun is in the possession of or used by a person who has been convicted of a crime of violence in any federal or state court of the United States, its territories, or insular possessions; or

4. When empty or loaded pistol shells of 30 (.30 in. or 7.63 mm.) caliber or larger that could be used in the machine gun are found near it.3

The statute provides a narrow exemption from the presumption if all the following are true:

1. The machine gun is registered to a corporation (or a representative of the corporation) that manufactures ammunition under the National Firearms Act or the Gun Control Act of 1968;

2. The machine gun is being used primarily to test ammunition in a non-offensive and non- aggressive way; and

3. The corporation or representative is legally allowed to possess firearms under state and federal law.4

I understand this to mean that, except for the narrow exception outlined above, a person is generally not allowed to openly carry a machine gun, as defined by the Uniform Machine Gun Act. No Arkansas or federal court has addressed what other factors might rebut the presumption. This stands in sharp contrast to the treatment of handguns under A.C.A. § 5-73-120(a), which requires proof of unlawful intent to use a handgun against another person for a conviction.5 As such, anyone who decides to openly carry a machine gun at a municipal park runs the risk of criminal

2
A.C.A. § 5-73-204 (“Possession or use of a machine gun for offensive or aggressive purpose is declared to be a crime punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a term of not less than ten (10) years.”). 3 A.C.A. § 5-73-205(a)(1)–(4).
4
A.C.A. § 5-73-205(b)(1)–(3).
5
See Taff, 2018 Ark. App. at 9–10, 562 S.W.3d at 882–83; Ark. Att’y Gen. Ops. 2025-031, 2015-64.

The Honorable Dolly Henley
State Representative
Opinion No. 2025-051
Page 5

prosecution for merely possessing the machine gun, loaded or unloaded, because the possession would be presumed to be for an offensive or aggressive purpose. Any rebuttal of the presumption would depend on demonstrating a clear, lawful, and non-threatening reason for possession that is consistent with both the Uniform Machine Gun Act and federal firearm regulations.

Assistant Attorney General Justin Hughes prepared this opinion, which I hereby approve.

Sincerely,

TIM GRIFFIN
Attorney General