From my conversations with Irwin, getting a letter from G&F now will be nary impossible for private keepers.  That being said, I've been a gator keeper for a few years now.  It has been a lot of fun to have, eats almost anything.  But I've kept it on a slow growth plan, so it's still quite small and manageable.

You have to have a G&F letter to legally possess a gator in AR regardless of how the animal was acquired.

Pretty much what it sounds like...feed less, grow less.  My gator is certainly not starved, but I'm not interested in seeing how quickly I can get it large either.

I know right, but in my opinion we need to regulate the larger reptiles or at least require owners to get training like in Florida.

i have an alligator as a pet and she is a charm. shes is a healthy alligator. she is a about a year and half. i know she is gonna get big but im fully prepared for it. but i do agree about getting a little stricter rules for owning gators and bigger pythons. i have way to many friends who want a gator because there ''cool'' and my green anaconda is a awesome snakes it makes others want one. i dont wanna see that happening and more people get in over there heads. one of my bigger snakes takes three people to properly clean its cage. i even like having a freind around for just spot cleaning. that snake really hurts when it bites haha. but on to the feeding she eats gator chow as well rats. shes not growing excessivly but shes not small either. ill see about posting some pics of her in a little bit.

The law is being changed right now in arkansas to make it harder to acquire an alligator. Kelly is not giving any letters of authorization until it changes. None will be given for an alligator as a "pet" any longer or even for "education" as in taking to schools and so on, but keeping it in your bathtub.. If you are prepared to care for an animal for 80 years, have a couple grand for a proper enclosure, no close neighbors, and arent too attached to your digits i suppose they make decent pets as they are fairly mellow. It breaks my heart when i see the gator in the game and fish's possession at the fish hatchery which i have messed with a little. They claim it is 13 years old. it is kept in a 55 gallon tank with a snapping turtle and it badly deformed. if you arent prepared for a 6 ft female or a 10 ft male you shouldnt think about it. Continually planning on keeping a juvi alligator and trading it off when it gets too big isnt doing our hobby any favors.

Well, there's always that new pair of boots...maybe a new belt and purse, too, depending.   

Those would be questions for Kelly Irwin.  Whatever the changes, it's not like owners haven't required proper documentation since way back when.  And as far as I know, no laws have changed that would directly affect the current legality of owning a gator with that prior documentation.  It is true, however, that GETTING that documentation recently became a whole lot harder because, well, frankly G&F doesn't want to give it out.

So, unfortunately, for the gatorless amongst us...you're probably going to stay that way for the foreseeable future.  Unless laws don't matter to you.