Union Pacific is a time-honored member of the railroad industry with a name that conjures up the Old West and 19th-century expansion. And, in 2026, a company with blanket prohibitions that strip the right to bear arms from those using its parking lots.
Arkansas is one of several states that specifically protects a law-abiding citizen’s right to store a legally possessed firearm in a locked vehicle.
A railroad worker was disciplined there despite the state law protecting his rights and the adjustment board reinstating his prior employment. Union Pacific fought back, turning to federal courts to justify its zero-tolerance policy for the freedom to keep arms for self-defense.
Nationwide status does not exempt company from honoring state law
U.S. District Judge Lee P. Rudofsky dismissed company lawyers’ arguments that federal railroad protections allow its controversial zero-tolerance stance on firearms in locked cars in its parking lots.
“This is a gun rights case. But it is not a usual one,” Rudofsky declared. “It does not implicate the Second Amendment, at least not directly. To cut to the chase, the answer is no.”
Who falls under the injunction?
Hope is limited victory will become permanent and protect thousands more
So far, that totals approximately 2,500 Union Pacific employees who work in Arkansas and may lawfully keep a handgun in their vehicles when certain conditions are met. Union Pacific has a recent history of digging in its heels in this protracted disagreement, so an appeal to the Eighth Circuit would not be surprising.
The Natural State is hardly an outlier, as more than 20 of its colleagues moved to protect the right to keep weapons away from the home to safeguard loved ones and property.
No summary judgment was granted, and multiple challenges to the law are still being heard.
But for now and the near future, roughly 2,500 Arkansas railroad workers may store personal weapons in locked cars.
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