Lieutenant Governor Mark Darr has already announced he will not be running for Governor of Arkansas in 2014. But that's about the only political office he's ruling out at this point, telling Fox 24 in Fayetteville he's keeping his options open.
"I probably need to call my wife and ask her permission to say anything right now," said Darr. "But I think all other options are on the table, including re-election."
As lawmakers head into the 6th week of the current legislative session, there are several bills making headlines statewide. Some are even calling it the "God, Guns, and Fetuses" session. Just not Mark Darr.
"I think this is the 'People of Arkansas to be heard' session," says Darr. "That's why they gave the Republican majority for the first time in 138 years."
The Republican-controlled Arkansas Senate approved a measure on Monday to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, except in the case of rape, incest or to save the mother's life.
Governor Mike Beebe has called the bill unconstitutional, but Lieutenant Governor Darr says, regardless, it's something receiving support from both sides of the aisle.
"That's up to the Supreme Court to decide not the legislators and not even the Governor," says Darr. "I think finally for once we have an elected body that actually listens to the people, and those issues can be debated on the floor and get to be voted on. We see democrats and republicans voting for it."
The "Guns on Campus" bill could soon be signed into law. On Friday the bill passed in the House, and it now heads to the Senate for a vote.
It would give the option to colleges to allow certain staff and faculty to "conceal carry" on campus. Faculty and students at the University of Arkansas recently spoke against the bill, but the Lieutenant Governor is reminding people other colleges may feel differently.
"Just because the University of Arkansas doesn't want to doesn't necessarily mean that the University of Arkansas at Monticello doesn't," explains Darr. "And so we need to realize that there's a bigger state than just right here."
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Reported by: Brad Reed, Fox News Edge - Fayetteville
