House votes to allow concealed handguns without permit
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama House of Representatives on Tuesday approved legislation ending the requirement for a person to get a permit in order to carry a concealed handgun in public.
Lawmakers voted 65-37 for the bill after Republicans in the chamber limited debate to two hours. The bill now moves to the Alabama Senate.
Gun rights advocates have championed the proposal they call “constitutional carry,” arguing that people should not have to get a permit, which requires a background check and paying a fee, to carry a handgun they legally own. Many state sheriffs and other law enforcement officials have opposed the legislation, arguing the permits provide a crucial tool to combat crime and enhance public safety.
“This bill does not change who can and cannot carry a gun. The people that are prohibited now, will still be prohibited,” Republican Rep. Shane Stringer of Citronelle said of his bill.
Stringer, a former police chief and former captain in the Mobile County sheriff’s office, disputed arguments that the permits enhance public safety. “The fact of the matter is, criminals don’t obey laws. This $20 piece of plastic, a permit, is not going to stop an evil person from committing a crime or doing wrong, and it will not protect our law enforcement from getting hurt or killed.”
Alabama currently requires people to get a concealed carry permit, which requires a yearly background check, to carry a handgun under their clothes or in a purse or bag when they go in public. The bill would do away with the requirement, but people could still choose to get a permit if they wanted. It would also do away with the current requirement for people without concealed carry permits to keep handguns unloaded and secured when driving.
Rep. Pebblin Warren, a Democrat who represents Tuskegee, said the change will encourage young people to “just go wild in the street with guns.”
“We’re opening the door to really encourage violence,” Warren said.
Warren, the wife of a former state sheriff, read a letter from Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham, who now heads the Alabama Sheriffs Association, opposing passage of the bill.
Republican Rep. Allen Farley, a retired assistant sheriff, said the permits are a tool “for us to catch those people who should not have a firearm.”
Farley said the permit fees help fund small sheriffs’ offices and that the arrests for permit violations have led to seizures of drugs and the solving of crimes.
“Why are we making the thin blue line in Alabama thinner?” Farley said.
There are 21 states that allow concealed weapons in public without a permit, according to Stateline, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Proponent of the bill said the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is developing a database, authorized by a state law creating a lifetime concealed carry permit option, that officers will be able to use to flag people not legally entitled to carry a handgun. Stringer maintained that will be a better tool for law enforcement officers to remove guns from people who can not legally posses them.
Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said the intent of the database is good but said he did not think it could take the place of permits because there will be inevitable gaps in collecting data.
Israel says it has begun a pull-back of troops in Gaza
Israeli forces have begun a pull-back of troops from Gaza Friday after Israel's cabinet approved a plan for a ceasefire aimed at ending the devastating two-year-old war.
In the age of algorithms, one Irish town still does love the old-fashioned way
Most won't leave the town of Lisdoonvarna with a partner. But for a few nights each fall, they find something rarer — company, ritual and the comfort of not looking for love alone.
Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado wins 2025 Nobel Peace Prize
Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado has won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela.
Unlike the government, our quiz writer is still at work. Can you ace her test?
It's Nobel season — but other stuff happened, too. If you're up on France, legacy media and authors both high- and low-brow, you'll get at least four questions right.
‘The Alabama Solution’: a documentary with an inside look at Alabama’s prison crisis
Alabama’s prison system is one of the most violent in the country. But you don’t often hear from those inside. The Alabama Solution, a documentary about the system told from the perspective of incarcerated people, premieres on HBO Max Friday night.
This museum immerses students in U.S. history: ‘You can smell it, touch it, see it’
At New York City's Tenement Museum, high schoolers explore the American experience through the eyes of one 1860s-era Black family.
