Alabama Gun Permit Law Reform

Gun Permit Law

In Alabama, the law provides that a person is authorised to possess a firearm after applying to the Sheriff of the county where they reside for a concealed handgun permit. The Sheriff has the right to deny a permit application if the applicant is prohibited from possessing firearms in accordance with state or federal law. There is no permit, background check or firearms registration required when purchasing a handgun from a private individual.

Possessing a firearm is essential because of the need for state’s defence and self-defence for an individual, in a situation where he or she is convinced that the other party is exerting unlawful physical force or trespassing premises. Suitable applicants who do not have any disqualifying criminal convictions are eligible and shall be issued a licence. The licence allows the carriage of a concealed handgun, movement with the concealed handgun in a vehicle and within the state. The licence expires within the stipulated time of five years and is to be renewed afterwards. A resident of Alabama can carry concealed firearms to any state that shares reciprocal privileges with them and honours Alabama licences.

Alabama authorises open carry without a permit; which means to carry a firearm in public in circumstances where the firearm is fully or partially visible to others. An adult from age 18, legally entitled to possess a firearm can open carry. Although, schools and courthouses are out of bounds.

The legislature holds complete control over the regulation and policy relevant to firearms, ammunition and firearm accessories. This guarantees that the regulation and policy are practised systematically throughout the state by every person under the state’s jurisdiction. It also ensures the protection of the right to keep arms acknowledged by the Constitutions of the state of Alabama and the United States. Civilian ownership of short-barrel rifles and short-barrel shotguns authorised by the federal law was signed into law as Act 2010-496, amended on the 21st of April, 2010 by Gov. Bob Riley.

To ensure eligibility of possession of firearms by individuals and curb the use of illicit firearms, thorough FBI individual background checks are run by licensed dealers before it is sold. Authorised dealers also have to keep salient documentation of every handgun sold, encompassing the buyer’s signature and detailed information about the firearm. It is against the law to sell firearms to a prohibited person.

It is prohibited to carry firearms into certain places, including demonstrations and the premises of public schools by persons whose aim is to cause bodily harm and persons who do not have an Alabama Pistol Permit. Carrying firearms camouflaged as a walking cane is also prohibited.

A pre-filed bill slated for the 2022 legislative session is the Alabama gun permit law called the “constitutional carry” by its advocates, which has been introduced for several years but never passed into law. If signed into law, it will make Alabama the 22nd state in the United States of America to give licences to her citizens to acquire firearms without a permit. The bill proposes that a law-abiding adult citizen can carry a concealed firearm in Alabama without passing through government bureaucracy or bottlenecks for permits. It also maintains the existing firearms system, so citizens who wish to acquire a permit may still go through the process.

Proponents of permitless firearms carry analyses the following:

That the permit requirement infringes on the Alabama constitution’s second amendment rights, which clarifies the fundamental right to bear arms in defence of themselves and the state. Also, any restriction on this right shall be subjected to strict scrutiny. They argue that the need for a licence to carry a gun makes it a privilege, not a right.
They emphasise that it is not essential for people to pay for their gun permit rights, and the introduction of permitless carry would accomplish that.
They explain that bearing arms will make the bearer less vulnerable to criminal assault. Compared with other states that have enacted the permitless carry bill as law, there is an apparent and substantial decline in criminal assault cases, therefore drastically reducing criminal chaos.
They point out that new technology and laws passed earlier this year have made Alabama’s current permit requirements out of date.
They argue that criminals terrorising the areas do not obtain a firearms permit from their local sheriff, and so, criminal activities will not be at an uproar because of the enactment of the permitless firearms bill.
They also refer to a new database created under the Alabama Uniformed Concealed Carry Permit Act, adopted by lawmakers in April, 2021 that will single out people prohibited from possessing a firearm because of state or federal criminal conviction or because of a mental health illness. Of which the database will give law enforcement the tools they need to take criminals off the street. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) should have the database running actively by October 2022.

Oppositionists have stated their concerns on the loopholes that the permitless firearms regulations have:

Activists have highlighted that the permitless firearm law will make it easy for violent extremists to access guns and threaten the country’s peace, especially at a time when gun violence in Alabama is on the rise.
They draw attention to the fact that if the law is enacted, purchasing firearms will not require FBI background checks for buyers, thereby taking away an important tool for law enforcement officers. The new policy will create enough allowance for people armed with high-powered weapons, with criminal records, or connections with extremist groups to create chaos in public, especially with a national political atmosphere that increasingly features a confrontation between opposing groups of demonstrators.
They foresee it weakening critical gun safety laws and increasing teenage gun crime and shootouts, as it will not effectively control the distribution of guns amongst age groups. It will allow more people with no training or safety checks to handle firearms. Therefore, it will eliminate law enforcement’s discretion to revoke a person’s carry permit if they are suspected of causing dangers to themselves or others.
The permitless gun permit law will lead to a substantial increase in gun violence and broader violent crimes. Other states who have the permitless carry law have experienced an 11 percent increase in violent crime rates and an increase in handgun homicide by 13-15 percent.
They also point out that there will be no adequate and proper training for citizens if the gun permit law is reformed.
According to Cunningham, a county Sheriff, he reiterated that across 43 of Alabama’s 67 counties surveyed in 2021, 5,300 people were denied a firearms permit because of a criminal history or suffered from a mental illness. With the enactment of the permitless bill, these people will possess firearms on the streets and it is alarming.
They also state that if the bill is passed, it would change Alabama’s gun laws to remove the restrictions on where a person can and cannot carry a concealed pistol to. This can endanger the citizens.
They have opposed proposed legislation of permitless firearms as they have stated that it may cause a violent domestic insurgency, as a political situation may devolve into an insurgency. Hence, the bill should not be passed to make the state secure from gun violence and secured for responsible owners of guns.