https://news.yahoo.com/alabama...thout-182441672.html

Alabama to allow concealed guns without permit in 2023

KIM CHANDLER
Fri, December 30, 2022 at 12:24 PM CST

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama on Jan. 1 will become the latest state to allow people to carry a concealed handgun without a state permit that requires a background check.

The new state law ends the requirement for a person to get a permit to legally carry a concealed handgun in public. A person can still choose to get a permit if they want to do so.

The proposal had been introduced unsuccessfully for years in Montgomery, before winning approval this year. The legislation was championed by gun rights advocates who call it “constitutional carry,” in reference to the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Opponents, including state sheriffs and others in law enforcement, argued the permits help combat crime and enhance public safety.

The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, which lobbied for the Alabama legislation, said in April that 25 states now allow permitless carry.

“It’s going to be a big step to help the average law-abiding citizen to keep them from having to go through the hoops of getting a permit to carry their weapons,” Rep. Shane Stringer, the legislation’s sponsor, said. Stringer noted the law only impacts the permit requirement. “It's not going change who can and cannot carry a gun. People that are prohibited now are still prohibited.”

The Alabama Sheriffs Association had opposed the legislation. “Alabama sheriffs are clear on the law taking effect Jan. 1 and have adjusted accordingly,” said Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones, president of the Alabama Sheriffs’ Association

Jones and Stringer said there are still reasons a person might consider getting a permit. Jones said, “maintaining an Alabama concealed carry permit is wise when traveling out of state; reciprocity applies — other states may require non-residents to have a permit from their state of residence.”

Stringer noted that people should remember there continue to be places where weapons are banned entirely for security reasons, such as a courthouses.

Alabama lawmakers, under pressure from gun rights enthusiasts, approved the measure during the last legislative session. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey almost immediately signed the legislation into law and highlighted her support in her reelection campaign. The ad showed the governor sitting at her desk at the Alabama Capitol and pulling a small handgun out of her purse, along with a lipstick and cell phone.

Republican lawmakers who previously opposed the legislation said they were more comfortable voting for it this time because the state was developing a “prohibited persons” database to help officers flag people who are banned from possessing a handgun because of their criminal history and other reasons. The database was mandated by an earlier state law creating an option to get a lifetime concealed carry permit.

Stringer, a former deputy sheriff and former chief of the Satsuma Police Department, said the database was a major factor in his decision to sponsor the bill.

Proponents of the bill argued that will be a better system to remove guns from people who cannot legally possess them. Opponents argued the database will only be as good as the data that is entered into it and information gaps will be inevitable.

Hal Taylor, the head of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, sent Ivey a memo on Sept. 30 saying the database had been developed as required by state law.

“Whether issuing a routine traffic citation or investigating criminal activity, all officers using the Law Enforcement Tactical System now can receive instant notice of a person's ineligibility to possess a firearm,” Taylor wrote in the memo.

Lawmakers included language in the new law reiterating an officer's ability to temporarily take a handgun during a traffic stop or other investigation. An officer with a reasonable suspicion that a person was about to engage in criminal conduct can temporarily take a handgun and run it through databases to see if the gun was stolen.

An officer could also temporarily take a weapon if it is necessary for the safety of the officer or others. The weapon must be returned unless there is an arrest, or the person is posing a safety threat.

Good job 'Bama.

quote:

Alabama lawmakers, under pressure from gun rights enthusiasts,

So the big bad 'gun rights' folks MADE them do it. News writers these days. Ugh. How about they passed it because it was the right thing to do? You know, restoring constitutional rights.

Need LA and FL to get their stuff together and join the free states.

quote:

Originally posted by HK Ag:
Need LA and FL to get their stuff together and join the free states.

It looks like the Florida legislature may pass constitutional carry in 2023 and if it gets to Governor DeSantis desk he said he will sign it into law.

Congrats, Alabama! We're establishing the new normal - one state a time - but we're establishing the new normal.

quote:

Originally posted by 71 TRUCK:

quote:

Originally posted by HK Ag:
Need LA and FL to get their stuff together and join the free states.

It looks like the Florida legislature may pass constitutional carry in 2023 and if it gets to Governor DeSantis desk he said he will sign it into law.

There’s a handful of “republicans” that are holding it up at least in the last session. DeSantis will definitely sign if the legislature passes it.

I live less than 30 minutes both west and north of me to AL and their Mobile station is one of my local network channels. So I get a lot of their news. And we go there quite a few times a year.

Heck yeah, congrats guys and gals!

Awesome news!

Now if we could just get the Commie-Feds to stop trying to take away all guns...

Alabama says citizens may still apply for a permit if they wish. I assume this is for purposes of reciprocity? How is reciprocity among states supposed to work with all these permitless carry laws passing? I think I will always want to possess a carry license. Habits of a lifetime and all that.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Alabama says citizens may still apply for a permit if they wish. I assume this is for purposes of reciprocity? How is reciprocity among states supposed to work with all these permitless carry laws passing? I think I will always want to possess a carry license. Habits of a lifetime and all that.

Correct. Until there are 50 states with Constitutional carry, the permit could be used for reciprocity.

Only problem is the states not going towards Constitutional carry are the ones that have no reciprocity agreements.

^^^In addition to the benefit of Reciprocity, certain states w/ Constitutional Carry place restrictions on 'Permitless Carry' based on age and/or restrictions on certain areas where you can carry legally w/o a permit. Maine for instance, has Constitutional Carry, but you cannot legally carry w/o a permit in State Parks. I'm sure there are others...

One benefit of hving a permit that that many states waive the need for a background check for permit holders.

flashguy

^^^I wonder how many that really is? I know it's not mine...

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:

One benefit of hving a permit that that many states waive the need for a background check for permit holders.

Background check is not waived here in Florida, but when buying from a dealer / FFL, there is a three business day (or is it five? I don't remember) waiting period if the buyer does not have a carry permit; a buyer who has a permit can take [his / her / pronoun of choice] purchase home immediately with no waiting period.

Remember this argument from the 1990's: "The permit is so cops know that you might be armed before they approach your car if you get pulled over"

That argument didn't fly very far, but that was a serious argument, back in the day.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:

One benefit of hving a permit that that many states waive the need for a background check for permit holders.

Background check is not waived here in Florida, but when buying from a dealer / FFL, there is a three business day (or is it five? I don't remember) waiting period if the buyer does not have a carry permit; a buyer who has a permit can take [his / her / pronoun of choice] purchase home immediately with no waiting period.

That's absolutely dumb. Once you passed the NICS, why does it matter if you don't have the carry permit? You should be able to take the gun home immediately. Who the hell wrote this restriction into the bill?

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

when buying from a dealer / FFL, there is a three business day (or is it five? I don't remember) waiting period if the buyer does not have a carry permit; a buyer who has a permit can take [his / her / pronoun of choice] purchase home immediately with no waiting period.

That's absolutely dumb. Once you passed the NICS, why does it matter if you don't have the carry permit? You should be able to take the gun home immediately. Who the hell wrote this restriction into the bill?

<Homer Simpson> "Five days? But I'm mad now!" </Homer Simpson>

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:

One benefit of hving a permit that that many states waive the need for a background check for permit holders.

Background check is not waived here in Florida, but when buying from a dealer / FFL, there is a three business day (or is it five? I don't remember) waiting period if the buyer does not have a carry permit; a buyer who has a permit can take [his / her / pronoun of choice] purchase home immediately with no waiting period.

That's absolutely dumb. Once you passed the NICS, why does it matter if you don't have the carry permit? You should be able to take the gun home immediately. Who the hell wrote this restriction into the bill?

Because it's just Commonsense™

The biggest advantage for Utahns to get a permit, aside from the background check waiver, is that the CCW gives you the right to carry on school grounds. The CCW permit satisfies the Fed safe schools act that prohibits firearms on school grounds unless the state authorizes it, which Utah has in its CCW legislation.

Another advantage is the ability to be armed in any fashion you like while hunting or in a wildlife mgmt area. For example, you can have a pistol on your hip while bow hunting, if you have the Utah CCW. Without it, no modern guns allowed during the bow or primitive hunt.

Reciprocity will soon be a moot point, since those states that grant reciprocity are the ones going to 2A carry.

Very much looking forward to one more state so that there will be a majority (26), making 2A carry the norm and restrictions the exception.

Permitless carry passed here a couple years back. The streets did not run red with blood, however there was a massive run on guns when the law took effect.

The irony is that permits have been "shall issue" for years, cost all of $50, and require either no training (permit to acquire) or minimal training that could be done online (permit to carry). Nobody that bought a gun when the law changed would have been unable to do so before.

Our permits are valid for five years and have a NICS number, so they are an exception to NICS. The irony is that you could get a permit, become prohibited, and as long as the sheriff did not seize your permit, you could walk into a gun store and by a gun with no NICS and a 4 year, 364 day old permit. If anything, public safety is better served by a person without a permit buying a gun and having a NICS check run at the time of purchase.