There are 29 permitless carry states, and even in those under Democratic control like Maine and Vermont, lawmakers have never seriously considered repealing the permitless carry statutes. 

In Alabama, however, officials from Birmingham are hoping to persuade the state's Republican majority to scrap its recently adopted Constitutional Carry law, which went into effect in 2023. Birmingham was one of a handful of cities across the United States that saw an increase in homicides last year, and Mayor Randall Woodfin and others have repeatedly pointed the finger at the permitless carry law as part of the problem. Now, Democrat State Rep. Ontario Tillman, whose district includes portions of the southern part of the city, says he'll do everything in his power to undo permitless carry this session. 

“Putting forth polices, and supporting polices, to reduce gun violence,” Tillman said. “To get rid of the glock switch. To make sure that we repeal permitless carry, which we should not have gotten rid of in the first place.”

The law, which passed in 2022, was championed by guns rights advocates.

When it was put in place, Governor Kay Ivey said she was standing up for law abiding gunowners, and that permit-less reaffirmed Alabama’s commitment to “defending” Second Amendment rights.

Tillman is both a criminal defense attorney and a gun owner. He argues changing this law does not infringe on Alabamian’s rights. 

“Putting forth polices, and supporting polices, to reduce gun violence,” Tillman said. “To get rid of the glock switch. To make sure that we repeal permitless carry, which we should not have gotten rid of in the first place.”

The law, which passed in 2022, was championed by guns rights advocates.

When it was put in place, Governor Kay Ivey said she was standing up for law abiding gunowners, and that permit-less reaffirmed Alabama’s commitment to “defending” Second Amendment rights.

Tillman is both a criminal defense attorney and a gun owner. He argues changing this law does not infringe on Alabamian’s rights. 

“I am a card-carrying pistol person, so I understand our Second Amendment rights. Everyone should want to protect themselves,” Tillman said. “When we’re sitting here and we’re talking about crime, we have to look at it from a wholistic [sic] standpoint.”

If Tillman understands our Second Amendment rights, then he should be well aware that they don't require a state-issued permission slip before we can exercise them. And when it comes to crime, Tillman would be much better off trying to figure out why Birmingham had a record-high number of homicides in 2024 while other Alabama cities like Huntsville and Montgomery saw declines in their murder rates. If Constitutional Carry was responsible for Birmingham's violence, we would expect to see similar trends, both statewide and in other Constitutional Carry states, but that simply hasn't happened. 

As it turns out, the top federal prosecutor in northern Alabama says the city's violence has been fueled by gang members, not lawful gun owners. 

“A lot of what we also see is retaliatory violence, and a lot of that is based on street gangs,” U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona said. 

In 2024, the city recorded 151 total killings. 

That’s the highest in the city's history.

Escalona believes a good share of those are linked.

“You'll see a shooting that involves one gang and the rival gang or the victims of one shooting and be responsible for that retaliatory shooting,” Escalona said.

However, these gangs are not the Bloods and the Crips of the 1990s.

Escalona classifies them as local groups of criminals, often taking law into their own hands.

“It is a group of people who have come together and formed, kind of a fluid, loose, affiliation and gang more at, the very street and base level,” Escalona said.

Two weeks ago, Birmingham's Crime Commission recommended targeting the core criminals causing the most harm. 

Escalona agrees.

“We always try to go after, what we would call the worst of the worst, the trigger pullers, the drivers of violent crime,” Escalona said.

In fact, on Oct. 16, Birmingham police announced six arrests in eight murders.

That group included Damien McDaniel, who is accused of gunning down eleven people in 2024.

Following those arrests, homicides dropped 25 percent for the rest of the year.

Whether we're talking about Birmingham, Boston, or Baton Rouge, violent crime is typically driven by a small cohort of prolific offenders, few (if any) of them legal gun owners. Mayor Woodfin and Rep. Tillman can blame responsible gun owners for Birmingham's record-high homicides if they want, but it only shows their ignorance or unwillingness to address the real problem. I'm not all that concerned that Tillman will convince a majority of his fellow legislators to repeal Alabama's permitless carry law. I just think it's a shame that Tillman's even offering up that off-base idea while turning a blind eye to the damage done by gang members and repeat offenders in the city.