1 SB12
2 215487-1
3 By Senator Melson
4 RFD: Judiciary
5 First Read: 11-JAN-22
6 PFD: 12/07/2021
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1 215487-1:n:11/02/2021:LK/tgw LSA2021-2232
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8 SYNOPSIS: Under existing law, no person is authorized
9 to carry a concealed weapon or an unsecured firearm
10 in his or her vehicle unless the person has a valid
11 Alabama permit to carry a concealed weapon.
12 Also under existing law, when a person
13 commits a crime of violence, the possession of a
14 pistol without a permit is prima facie evidence of
15 the intent to commit the crime.
16 This bill would repeal certain restrictions
17 on the carrying or possession of a firearm on
18 certain property or in a motor vehicle by persons
19 with or without a concealed pistol permit.
20 The bill would revise certain restrictions
21 on the carrying or possession of firearms at
22 certain locations, and would revise the definition
23 of a courthouse annex, one of the locations in
24 which carrying or possession of a firearm is
25 prohibited.
26 This bill would revise the presumption that
27 a person carrying a pistol without a pistol permit
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1 is prima facie evidence of intent to commit a crime
2 of violence.
3 This bill would eliminate the requirement
4 for a person to obtain a concealed carry permit in
5 order to lawfully carry a pistol.
6 This bill would also make nonsubstantive,
7 technical revisions to update the existing code
8 language to current style.
9 Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama
10 of 1901, as amended by Amendment 890, now appearing
11 as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of
12 the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, prohibits a
13 general law whose purpose or effect would be to
14 require a new or increased expenditure of local
15 funds from becoming effective with regard to a
16 local governmental entity without enactment by a
17 2/3 vote unless: it comes within one of a number of
18 specified exceptions; it is approved by the
19 affected entity; or the Legislature appropriates
20 funds, or provides a local source of revenue, to
21 the entity for the purpose.
22 The purpose or effect of this bill would be
23 to require a new or increased expenditure of local
24 funds within the meaning of the amendment. However,
25 the bill does not require approval of a local
26 governmental entity or enactment by a 2/3 vote to
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1 become effective because it comes within one of the
2 specified exceptions contained in the amendment.
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4 A BILL
5 TO BE ENTITLED
6 AN ACT
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8 Relating to firearms; to amend Sections 13A-11-7,
9 13A-11-50, 13A-11-55, 13A-11-61.2, 13A-11-62, 13A-11-71,
10 13A-11-85, and 13A-11-90, Code of Alabama 1975, to delete
11 certain language regarding the carrying of a visible pistol;
12 to delete certain language regarding the carrying of a
13 concealed pistol; to revise certain restrictions on the
14 carrying or possession of firearms at certain locations; to
15 eliminate the requirement for a person to obtain a concealed
16 carry permit to lawfully carry a pistol; to revise language
17 regarding an employee storing a firearm in the employee's
18 vehicle; to make nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update
19 the existing code language to current style; to repeal
20 Sections 9-11-304, 13A-11-52, 13A-11-73, and 13A-11-74, Code
21 of Alabama 1975, relating to the carrying or possession of a
22 firearm or pistol, to repeal certain restrictions on the
23 carrying or possession of a firearm on certain property or in
24 a motor vehicle; and in connection therewith would have as its
25 purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased
26 expenditure of local funds within the meaning of Amendment 621
27 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended by
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1 Amendment 890, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official
2 Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
4 Section 1. Sections 13A-11-7, 13A-11-50, 13A-11-55,
5 13A-11-61.2, 13A-11-62, 13A-11-71, 13A-11-85, and 13A-11-90,
6 Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
7 "13A-11-7.
8 "(a) A person commits the crime of disorderly
9 conduct if, with intent to cause public inconvenience,
10 annoyance, or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, he
11 or she does any of the following:
12 "(1) Engages in fighting or in violent tumultuous or
13 threatening behavior.
14 "(2) Makes unreasonable noise.
15 "(3) In a public place uses abusive or obscene
16 language or makes an obscene gesture.
17 "(4) Without lawful authority, disturbs any lawful
18 assembly or meeting of persons.
19 "(5) Obstructs vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or a
20 transportation facility.
21 "(6) Congregates with other person in a public place
22 and refuses to comply with a lawful order of law enforcement
23 to disperse.
24 "(b) Disorderly conduct is a Class C misdemeanor.
25 "(c) It shall be a rebuttable presumption that the
26 The mere carrying of a visible pistol, holstered or secured,
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1 in a public place, in and of itself, is not a violation of
2 this section.
3 "(d) Nothing in Act 2013-283 shall be construed to
4 prohibit law enforcement personnel who have reasonable
5 suspicion from acting to prevent a breach of the peace or from
6 taking action to preserve public safety.
7 "13A-11-50.
8 "Except as otherwise provided in this Code, a person
9 who carries concealed about his person a bowie knife or knife
10 or instrument of like kind or description or a pistol or
11 firearm of any other kind or an air gun shall , on conviction,
12 shall be fined not less than $50.00 fifty dollars ($50) nor
13 more than $500.00 five hundred dollars ($500), and may also be
14 imprisoned in the county jail or sentenced to hard labor for
15 the county for not more than six months.
16 "13A-11-55.
17 "(a) In an indictment for In the prosecution for
18 carrying weapons unlawfully, it is sufficient for the
19 complaint to state, with particularity, to charge that the
20 defendant carried concealed about his or her person a pistol,
21 or other description of firearms, on premises not his own, or
22 a bowie knife, or other knife or instrument of the like kind
23 or description, or other forbidden weapon., describing it, as
24 the case may be;
25 "(b) and the excuse, if any, must be proved by the
26 defendant on the trial, to the satisfaction of the jury; and
27 if the evidence offered to excuse the charge raises a
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1 reasonable doubt of the defendant's guilt, the jury must
2 acquit him. The defendant during a prosecution pursuant to
3 subsection (a) shall bear the burden of injecting the issue of
4 mitigation of punishment or justification for the offense of
5 carrying the weapon, but the burden of proof of guilt beyond a
6 reasonable doubt shall remain with the prosecution.
7 "13A-11-61.2.
8 "(a) In addition to any other place limited or
9 prohibited by state or federal law, a person, including a
10 person with a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or
11 recognized under Section 13A-11-85, may not knowingly possess
12 or carry a firearm in any of the following places without the
13 express permission of a person or entity with authority over
14 the premises:
15 "(1) Inside the building of a police, sheriff, or
16 highway patrol station.
17 "(2) Inside or on the premises of a prison, jail,
18 halfway house, community corrections facility, or other
19 detention facility for those who have been charged with or
20 convicted of a criminal or juvenile offense.
21 "(3) Inside a facility which that provides inpatient
22 or custodial care of those with psychiatric, mental, or
23 emotional disorders.
24 "(4)a. Inside a courthouse, courthouse annex, a
25 building in which a district attorney's office is located, or
26 a building in which a county commission or city council is
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1 currently having a regularly scheduled or specially called
2 meeting.
3 "b. For purposes of this subdivision, "courthouse
4 annex" means a building that is currently having regularly
5 scheduled or specially called court hearings.
6 "(5) Inside any facility hosting an athletic event
7 not related to or involving firearms which is sponsored by a
8 private or public elementary or secondary school or any
9 private or public institution of postsecondary education,
10 unless the person has a permit issued under Section
11 13A-11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section 13A-11-85.
12 "(6) Inside any facility hosting a professional
13 athletic event not related to or involving firearms, unless
14 the person has a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1)
15 or recognized under Section 13A-11-85.
16 "(b)(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection
17 (a), a person, including a person with a permit issued under
18 Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section 13A-11-85,
19 may not, without the express permission of a person or entity
20 with authority over the premises, may not knowingly possess or
21 carry a firearm inside any building or facility to which
22 access of unauthorized persons and prohibited articles is
23 limited during normal hours of operation by the continuous
24 on-site posting of guards who are responsible for the
25 prevention of prohibited items from entering the facility, and
26 the use of other security features, including, but not limited
27 to, magnetometers, key cards, biometric screening devices, or
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1 turnstiles or other physical barriers that prevent all persons
2 entering the facility from bringing prohibited items into the
3 facility.
4 "(2) It is not a violation of this subsection (a) or
5 (b) to knowingly possess or carry a firearm at a location
6 described in subsection (a) or (b) if the location is also a
7 sheriff's office that issues pistol permits and the pistol
8 remains inside of a locked vehicle at all times while the
9 person is on the premises.
10 "(3) Nothing in this subsection otherwise restricts
11 the possession, transportation, or storage of a lawfully
12 possessed firearm or ammunition in an employee's privately
13 owned motor vehicle while parked or operated in a public or
14 private parking area provided the employee complies with the
15 requirements of Section 13A-11-90.
16 "(c) The person or entity with authority over the
17 premises set forth in subdivisions (1) to (6) (4), inclusive,
18 of subsection (a) and subsection (b) shall place a notice at
19 the public entrances of such premises or buildings alerting
20 those entering that firearms are prohibited.
21 "(d) Except as provided in subdivisions (5) and (6)
22 of subsection (a), any Any firearm on the premises of any
23 facility set forth in subdivision (1), (3), or (4) of
24 subsection (a), or subdivisions (4) to (6) inclusive, of
25 subsection (a), or subsection (b) must be kept from ordinary
26 observation and locked within a compartment or in the interior
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1 of the person's motor vehicle or in a compartment or container
2 securely affixed to the motor vehicle.
3 "(e) A violation of subsection (a), (b), or (d) is a
4 Class C misdemeanor.
5 "(f) This section shall not prohibit any person from
6 possessing a firearm within the person's residence or during
7 ingress or egress thereto.
8 "(g) Prohibitions regarding the carrying of a
9 firearm under this section shall not apply to law enforcement
10 officers engaged in the lawful execution of their official
11 duties or a qualified retired law enforcement officer. For
12 purposes of this section, qualified retired law enforcement
13 officer shall mean a retired officer who meets all of the
14 following requirements:
15 "(1) Was separated from service in good standing
16 from service with a public agency as a law enforcement
17 officer.
18 "(2) Before separation, was authorized by law to
19 engage in or supervise the prevention, detection,
20 investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of any
21 person for, any violation of law, and had statutory powers of
22 arrest.
23 "(3) Before separation, served as a law enforcement
24 officer for an aggregate of 10 years or more and separated
25 from service with such agency, after completing any applicable
26 probationary period of such service, due to a
27 service-connected disability, as determined by the agency.
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1 "(4) During the most recent 12-month period, has
2 met, at the expense of the individual, the standards for
3 qualification in firearms training for active law enforcement
4 officers, as determined by the former agency of the
5 individual, the state in which the individual resides or, if
6 the state has not established such standards, either a law
7 enforcement agency within the state in which the individual
8 resides or the standards used by a certified firearms
9 instructor that is qualified to conduct a firearms
10 qualification test for active duty officers within that state.
11 "(5) Has not been officially found by a qualified
12 medical professional employed by the agency to be unqualified
13 for reasons relating to mental health, and as a result, will
14 not be issued the photographic identification described in
15 subdivision (8) and has not entered into an agreement with the
16 agency from which the individual is separating from service in
17 which that individual acknowledges he or she is not qualified
18 under this section for reasons relating to mental health and
19 for those reasons will not receive or accept the photographic
20 identification as described in subsection subdivision (8).
21 "(6) Is not under the influence of alcohol or
22 another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance.
23 "(7) Is not prohibited by state or federal law from
24 receiving a firearm.
25 "(8) Is carrying any of the following identification
26 documents:
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1 "a. A photographic identification issued by the
2 agency from which the individual separated from service as a
3 law enforcement officer that identifies the person as having
4 been employed as a police officer or law enforcement officer
5 and indicates that the individual has, not less recently than
6 one year before the date the individual is carrying the
7 concealed firearm, been tested or otherwise found by the
8 agency to meet the active duty standards for qualification in
9 firearms training as established by the agency to carry a
10 firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm.
11 "b. A photographic identification issued by the
12 agency from which the individual separated from service as a
13 law enforcement officer that identifies the person as having
14 been employed as a police officer or law enforcement officer,
15 and a certification issued by the state in which the
16 individual resides or by a certified firearms instructor who
17 is qualified to conduct a firearms qualification test for
18 active duty officers within that state that indicates that the
19 individual, not less than one year before the date the
20 individual is carrying the concealed firearm, has been tested
21 or otherwise found by the state or a certified firearms
22 instructor who is qualified to conduct a firearms
23 qualification test for active duty officers within that state
24 to have met either of the following:
25 "1. The active duty standards for qualification in
26 firearms training, as established by the state, to carry a
27 firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm.
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1 "2. If the state has not established such standards,
2 standards set by any law enforcement agency within that state
3 to carry a firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm.
4 "(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to
5 authorize the carrying or possession of a firearm where
6 prohibited by federal law.
7 "13A-11-62.
8 "For purposes of this division, the following terms
9 shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly
10 indicates otherwise:
11 "(1) FIREARM. Definition is same as provided in As
12 defined under Section 13A-8-1(4).
13 "(2) RIFLE. Any weapon designed or redesigned, made
14 or remade, and intended to be fire