In January I covered the challenges in the race to 22 with Alabama being in queue to be the next state to go permitless, and it looks like it was pulled off. The bill, signed into law on March 10th, had steep hurdles to overcome, with law enforcement groups taking up strange bedfellows in the form of anti-freedom groups.

Bobby Timmons, director of the Alabama Sheriff’s Association (ASA), is so opposed to acknowledging your inherent right-to-carry, and wants so badly to protect the revenue stream from permit fees, that he openly opposes the Second Amendment and allies with anti-gun extremists. He said in a media interview that the ASA is working with a Bloomberg-backed, national anti-gun group in order to oppose the constitutional carry legislation currently in the Alabama Legislature.

Besides this awful sneak attack from behind, the anti-civil rights groups also were engaged in Chicken Little howls about blood spilling into the streets.

Recently one of the red shirted “do gooders” was screaming from the rooftops in a letter to the editor.

 

The Alabama legislature is currently considering passing a dangerous Permitless Carry bill. Alabama’s current permitting system helps keep Alabama families safe by making sure that people carrying concealed handguns in public pass background checks. Repealing our permitting requirements would dismantle Alabama’s culture of responsible gun ownership and allow people with dangerous histories to evade background check requirements and safe-guards to ensure people carrying guns in public are responsible gun owners.

What Paula Wilson, the author of the letter and Co-Chapter Leader over at the Alabama Moms Demand Action (MDA) conveniently leaves out in her magnum opus is that the permitting system does nothing to help keep Alabama families or citizens or non-citizens “safe”. The permitting law does not “make sure” that people carrying concealed handguns in public pass background checks. All the law does is make sure that people that are LEGALLY carrying concealed handguns in public pass the background checks. 

The journey to 22 was met with adversity but the National Rifle Association backed legislation did prevail in becoming law on Thursday.

The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) today applauds Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey for signing House Bill 272, NRA-backed legislation that allows law-abiding Alabamians to carry a handgun for personal protection without paying a tax or obtaining a license from the state. 

“The NRA worked tirelessly with state leaders and legislators to pass the most significant pro-Second Amendment measure in Alabama history,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Jason Ouimet. “We thank Gov. Ivey, bill author Rep. Shane Stringer, legislative leaders, and every lawmaker who supported this landmark legislation.”  

When politicians and talking heads use the phrase “commonsense”, permitless carry is about as commonsense as it can possibly get. We all know that the term is almost always used to contort reality and normalize the stripping of freedoms and rights from citizens. However, measures like this in Alabama really do serve the people, those whose right to bear arms is not to be infringed. We have the Second Amendment which plainly and succinctly outlines regular people are to be unencumbered in their ability to both keep and bear arms. Often cited by Cam, no state has ever walked back the removal of restrictions of the rights of people to carry arms. Permitless states have yet to have buyers remorse and revert back to shall or may issue. And, shall issue states have not gone back to may or no issue.

As reported, Governor Ivey was very happy to sign this bill into law.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has signed into law a bill which eliminates the requirement of residents in the state to obtain a permit in order to carry a concealed pistol.

“Unlike states who are doing everything in their power to make it harder for law-abiding citizens, Alabama is reaffirming our commitment to defending our Second Amendment rights,” Ivey said in a statement after she signed the measure on Thursday. “I have always stood up for the rights of law-abiding gun owners, and I am proud to do that again today.”

🎉BREAKING NEWS & NRA VICTORY: Alabama Becomes 22nd State to PASS NRA-Backed Constitutional Carry

Say hello to NO GOVERNMENT PERMISSION!

— NRA (@NRA) March 10, 2022

The text of the bill which was sent to the Governor’s desk can be read HERE.

Hard work, dedication, and grassroots activism lead to the passage of this law. With great gratitude, we should direct our thanks to organizations like the National Rifle Association for really rallying behind this bill becoming law.

 “None of this would be possible without the relentless efforts by leaders in both the house and senate including Speaker Mac McCutcheon, House Lead Sponsor Shane Stringer, Rep Mike Jones, Rep Andrew Sorrell, ​Senate lead sponsor Sen. Gerald Allen, and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Reed,” said NRA Alabama State Director Art Thomm.

Now that we have 22 in 22, who’s going to be 23? Here at Bearing Arms, we’ll be watching as more and more states join the ranks of permitless carry, the way our founders intended it to be. With hopeful anticipation of a favorable and broad opinion on NYSRPA v Bruen by the start of summer, perhaps that’ll help both accelerate other states to implement this commonsense measure and liberate the citizens in states that issue only on paper.