Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl commended the State House Republican Caucus for unanimously voting to add constitutional carry legislation to the legislative agenda for the 2022 Alabama Regular Legislative Session.
“Constitutional Carry is an important piece of legislation, and I am proud to see the Alabama House Republican Caucus add it to their 2022 legislative agenda,” Wahl said. “The Alabama Republican Party firmly believes in the Second Amendment, and the right of the American people to keep and bear arms. We fully support the House Caucus on this issue.
“As the Biden Administration and liberal Democrats continue to ignore the constitution, as well as the rights and freedoms our nation was founded on, it has become even more important that we have leadership on the state level that will defend our rights and values. The right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental American freedom and deserves to be protected. The people of Alabama should never be charged a fee for exercising their constitutional rights. Alabama is a pro-Second Amendment state, and State Representative Shane Stringer’s legislation goes a long way to address and protect this fundamental right.”
State Reps. Andrew Sorrell (R-Muscle Shoals) and Shane Stringer (R-Satsuma) as well as State Sen. Gerald Allen (R-Tuscaloosa) have all pre-filed bills to end the concealed carry permit requirement.
Stringer, a former Mobile County sheriff's captain, was allegedly fired back in May by Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran for his support of constitutional carry. Cochran and other sheriffs claim that constitutional carry removes a check on dangerous people having guns and will make law enforcement stops more difficult. Cochran recently announced his retirement.
Current law requires that Alabama gun owners purchase a concealed carry permit to carry their handguns with them in their motor vehicles or concealed on their person. Alabama already allows open carry of handguns, but the gun must be unloaded and placed in a locked box out of reach of the owner when it is in a vehicle. To have a handgun in your vehicle or to cover it with a jacket requires the purchase of a permit. It is perfectly legal in Alabama to have a loaded long gun (shotgun or rifle) in a vehicle.
Constitutional carry has passed the State Senate at least three times but has gotten tied up in committee in the House. In 2021, Stringer’s bill did pass out of the House Homeland Security Committee but was not brought to the floor before the end of the legislative session.
Permitless carry/constitutional carry is supported by the National Rifle Association, BamaCarry, and the American Association for Gun Rights. It is opposed by the Alabama Sheriff’s Association and Mother Demand Action Against Gun Violence.
The 2022 Alabama Regular Legislative Session began on Jan. 11.
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