Despite recent speculation that Alabama's Big 10 Mayors would soon be meeting to discuss repealing the state's permitless carry law, Big 10 chairman Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson says that is not the case.
Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin blamed the state legislature for escalating crime in their cities for removing the requirement to purchase a permit for lawful citizens to carry a weapon in 2022.
After a recent mass shooting in Birmingham over the weekend, Woodfin once again placed the blame on Constitutional carry and the state's gun laws in general. Woodfin's blame-shifting put him at odds with many state lawmakers, including those in the Democratic party.
Alabama's Big 10 consists of Auburn, Birmingham, Decatur, Dothan, Hoover, Huntsville, Madison, Mobile, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa. The respective mayors of each city make up "Alabama's Big 10 Mayors," whose stated purpose is to "work together to address the state's most important issues and make Alabama a safer, better place for all its residents to live."
The Big 10 openly opposed the law during the 2022 legislative session. It passed despite their protestations.
In the aftermath, speculation abounded online and amongst Alabama politicos that the Big 10 mayors were arranging a meeting in Hoover to discuss plans to target the constitutional carry law.
Stimpson told 1819 News that the Hoover meeting had been prepared weeks before, and they were emphatically not addressing constitutional carry.
"We aren't meeting about permitless carry and our group hasn't had any conversations about that topic," Stimpson said in a statement to 1819 News. "We set this meeting up several weeks ago to discuss some tax policy issues that affect our cities with lawmakers."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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