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Article I, § 26 of the Alabama Constitution provides: "That every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state."
The Supreme Court of Alabama has long taken the position that the right to "bear arms" under the Alabama Constitution may be regulated by the
state. In State v. Reid, 1 Ala. 612 (Ala. 1840), the court rejected an art. I, § 26 challenge to a statute authorizing criminal penalties for
individuals convicted of carrying a concealed weapon. The court concluded, "The Constitution, in declaring that ‘every citizen has the right
to bear arms in defense of himself and the state,' has neither expressly nor by implication denied to the Legislature the right to enact laws
in regard to the manner in which arms shall be borne." Reid, 1 Ala. at 616.
The Alabama Supreme Court has also rejected other art. I, § 26 challenges to state firearms statutes. See Isaiah v. State, 58 So. 53 (Ala. 1911)
(rejecting an art. I, § 26 challenge to a statute prohibiting a person from openly carrying a pistol while on another's premises), and
Davenport v. State, 20 So. 971 (Ala. 1895) (rejecting an art. I, § 26 challenge to a state law barring any person from pointing a loaded or
unloaded firearm at another person).
See also Bristow v. State, 418 So. 2d 927 (Ala. Crim. App. 1982) (rejecting an art. I, § 26 challenge to Alabama Code § 13A-11-72(a), which
prohibits a person previously convicted of a violent crime of possessing a pistol); Dickerson v. State, 517 So. 2d 625 (Ala. Crim. App. 1986)
(rejecting another art. I, § 26 challenge to Ala. Code § 13A-11-72(a)), overruled on other grounds by Ex parte Dickerson, 517 So. 2d 628 (Ala. 1987).
The Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama upheld a municipal ordinance that banned possession of a firearm in a public place where such possession would cause or provoke a breach of the peace, reaffirming that in Alabama
"[i]t is well-settled and 'universally recognized,'...that the right of a citizen to bear arms in defense of himself and the state is subject to reasonable regulation under the police powers of the state." Hyde v. Birmingham, 392 So. 2d 1226, 1227 (Ala. Crim. App. 1980). Subsequent to this decision, however, the Alabama State Legislature passed Ala. Code § 11-45-1.1, which preempts municipal laws that regulate handguns (see the Alabama State Preemption section).
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In 1982, Alabama enacted a specific handgun-related preemption statute, Alabama Code § 11-45-1.1, which states:
No incorporated municipality shall
have the power to enact any ordinance, rule, or regulation which shall
tax, restrict, prevent, or in any way affect the possession or
ownership of handguns by the citizens of this state. The entire
subject matter of handguns is reserved to the State Legislature. This
section shall not be construed to limit or restrict the power of a
municipality to adopt ordinances which make the violation of a state
handgun law a violation of a municipal ordinance to the same extent as
other state law violations, or to limit or restrict the power of a
municipal court to exercise concurrent jurisdiction with the district
court over violations of state handgun laws which may be prosecuted as
breaches of a municipal ordinance.
In Ex parte Childers, 640 So. 2d 16 (1994), the Supreme Court of Alabama found a municipal ordinance prohibiting the possession of all firearms, including handguns, on the premises of any business maintaining a "lounge retail liquor license" to be preempted by section 11-45-1.1 (despite the fact that § 11-45-1.1 relates only to handguns, and does not proscribe local regulation of other firearms).
Alabama Attorney General opinions have reinforced the total preemptive effect of section 11-45-1.1 on municipal handgun regulation. For example,
the Attorney General has opined that under section 11-45-1.1, municipalities have no authority to enact any ordinance dealing with handguns.
1984 Ala. AG LEXIS 3, 197 Op. Att'y Gen. Ala. 26 (December 3, 1984), and 1987 Ala. AG LEXIS 2, 209 Op. Att'y Gen. Ala. 41 (December 18, 1987).
The Attorney General has stated that while a municipality may not adopt a workplace violence prevention policy for its employees prohibiting
employees from possessing handguns in the workplace, the municipality may adopt a policy prohibiting possession of any other type of weapon by
employees. 2001 Ala. AG LEXIS 163, No. 2001-267 (August 28, 2001).
Section 11-80-11, enacted in 2000, also significantly affects the ability of
municipalities and counties to regulate the sale, possession and use
of all firearms, not only handguns.
Section 11-80-11(a) states: "No
county or municipal corporation, instrumentality, or political
subdivision thereof, by ordinance, resolution, or other enactment,
shall regulate in any manner gun shows, the possession, ownership,
transport, carrying, transfer, sale, purchase, licensing, registration
or use of firearms, ammunition, components of firearms, firearms
dealers, or dealers in firearm components." Under Alabama law, a
firearm is defined as "[a] weapon from which a shot is discharged by
gunpowder."
Ala. Code §§ 13A-8-1(4) and
13A-11-62(1).
By its terms, section 11-80-11 does not affect the authority of:
A municipality to regulate the discharge of firearms within its boundaries; A county to regulate the discharge of firearms within its boundaries under a law enacted prior to August 1, 2000; or A county or municipality to assess, enforce and collect sales taxes, use taxes, and gross receipts taxes on the retail sale of firearms and ammunition, and to assess, enforce and collect business licenses from firearms or ammunition manufacturers, trade associations, distributors or dealers for the privilege of engaging in business.
Section 11-80-11(b)(2) also states:
[N]othing herein shall exempt any business which uses firearms or ammunition in the conduct of its business or any business which leases or sells firearms or ammunition from the provisions of county and municipal planning and zoning laws, as long as the code, ordinance, or regulations are not used to circumvent the intent of subsection (a).
This section shall not be construed to
limit or restrict the power of a municipality to adopt or enforce
ordinances which make the violation of a state firearm law a violation
of a municipal ordinance to the same extent as other state law
violations.
There are no cases interpreting section 11-80-11.
However, the Attorney General has opined that even under sections 11-45-1.1 and
11-80-11 a city may still:
Regulate the discharge of firearms other than handguns within its corporate limits; Adopt an ordinance making a violation of a state handgun law a violation of a municipal ordinance; and Regulate the times and places a firearm can be discharged for hunting and nonhunting purposes, provided the ordinance
or regulation is not inconsistent with state laws and regulations.
2005 Ala. AG LEXIS 94, No. 2005-127 (May 10, 2005).
Section 6-5-341, pertaining to the regulation of sport shooting ranges, states that rules or regulations adopted by any governmental body (including any county or municipal governing body per § 6-5-341(a)(1)) limiting levels of noise in terms of decibel level or limiting levels of lead occurring in the atmosphere shall not apply to a sport shooting range exempted from liability under section 6-5-341. Section 6-5-341(d), (e). For further information, please see the Alabama Immunity Statutes/Manufacturer Litigation section.
Finally, city and town councils have the power to revoke any license issued to a location where firearms are kept for sale when "the public safety, peace, good order or decency may require it" and when the owner or operator of the location has been convicted of any violation of city or town ordinances regulating such a business. Section 11-51-103. A city or town has the power to authorize the mayor or other chief executive officer by proclamation to cause any or all houses or places of amusement or houses or places for the sale of firearms to be closed for a period not longer than the next meeting of the city or town council or other governing body. Section 11-51-102.
Please see the Preemption section of the Master List of Firearms Policies for a general discussion of this issue, as well as the Federal Preemption section of the Federal Law Summary page.
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For general information on each policy, click the heading for that policy. Please note that many firearm-related laws have exceptions for military and law enforcement personnel.
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No relevant statutes currently exist.
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Federal
law generally requires that licensed firearms dealers conduct
a background check on all prospective firearms purchasers to
ensure that such persons are not prohibited from buying or
possessing a firearm. This background check requirement and
the National Instant Criminal Background Check System ("NICS")
were enacted through the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention
Act, pursuant to Public Law 103-159, and codified at
18 U.S.C. § 921 et seq. Federal law defines a
number of classes of prohibited purchasers (including felons,
fugitives, persons adjudicated as "mental defectives" or those
committed to mental institutions), and leaves to the states
the power to determine additional classes. (For a complete
list of federally prohibited purchasers, click
here.)
Under the
Brady Act, states have the option of serving as a "state point
of contact" and conducting their own background checks using
NICS and state informational records and databases, or having
the checks performed by the FBI using only NICS. Federal law
does not require that private sellers (persons other than
firearms dealers) conduct background checks on prospective
purchasers.
In Alabama, all firearms transfers by licensed dealers are processed directly through the FBI, which enforces the federal
purchaser prohibitions referenced above. Bureau of Justice Statistics Survey of State Procedures Related to Firearm Sales, Midyear 2004 (August 2005).
See also Alabama Code § 41-9-649. In addition, Alabama has adopted other classes of prohibited persons and incorporated some of the federal
prohibitions as state offenses. Section
13A-11-72 provides that, subject to certain limited exceptions, no person shall possess or own a handgun if he or she:
Has been convicted of committing, or attempting to commit, a crime of violence; or Is a drug addict or a habitual drunkard.
Crimes of violence include murder, manslaughter (except manslaughter
arising out of the operation of a vehicle), rape, mayhem,
assault with intent to rob, assault with intent to ravish,
assault with intent to murder, robbery, burglary, kidnapping
and larceny.
Section 13A-11-70.
Firearms transfers by private sellers (non-firearms dealers) are not subject to background checks in Alabama, although federal and state purchaser prohibitions still apply. See the Alabama Private/Secondary Sales section.
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No relevant statutes currently exist.
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Open Carrying/Exposed Firearms
Alabama prohibits any person from having in her or his possession or on his or her person or in any vehicle any firearm while participating in or
attending any demonstration being held at a public place. Ala. Code § 13A-11-59(b). It is also unlawful for any person to have in his or her possession
or about his or her person or in any vehicle any firearm at a point within 1,000 feet of a demonstration at a public place, after having been advised by a
law enforcement officer that a demonstration was taking place and after having been ordered by such officer to remove himself or herself from the
prescribed area until such time as he or she no longer was in possession of any firearm. Section 13A-11-59(c).
Alabama prohibits the carrying of a handgun on premises that are not owned or under the control of the possessor unless the
person carries the handgun pursuant to a valid concealed handgun license. Section 13A-11-52.
The possession of a firearm within any wildlife management area without a valid permit allowing this privilege is prohibited. Section 9-11-304.
Subject to limited exceptions, no person shall knowingly, with intent to do bodily harm, carry or possess a
deadly weapon on the premises of a public school. Section 13A-11-72(c). The term "deadly weapon" includes any
firearm. Section 13A-11-72(g).
State administrative regulations govern firearms in:
Mental health services providers and community mental health centers must also have program rules that address the possession of weapons. Ala. Admin. Code § 580-2-13-.14(26)(d)(7).
Transportation of Firearms
Alabama prohibits the carrying of a handgun in any vehicle or concealed on or about the person without a concealed handgun license,
except on the possessor's land or in the possessor's home or fixed place of business. Ala. Code § 13A-11-73. This prohibition shall not
apply, however, to any person permitted by law to possess a handgun while carrying it unloaded in a secure wrapper, from the place of
purchase to his or her home or place of business, or to or from a place of repair or in moving from one place of abode or business to
another. Section 13A-11-74. This prohibition also does not apply to the transportation of handguns as curiosities or ornaments unloaded
and in a bag, box or securely wrapped package, when not concealed on the person. Section 13A-11-83.
Concealed Weapons Licensing Requirements
Alabama is a "may issue" state, meaning that the sheriff of a county has discretion in determining whether or not to issue a concealed handgun license to an applicant. Ala. Code § 13A-11-75.
Upon receiving an application from any person residing in the county, the sheriff may issue a qualified or unlimited license under section 13A-11-75 if:
It appears that the applicant has good reason to fear injury to his or her person or property, or has any other proper reason for carrying a handgun; and
The applicant is a suitable person to be so licensed.
The fee for issuing a license to carry a concealed handgun is $1. Section 13A-11-75.
Additional application and background check requirements, as well as permit suspension or disqualification information, are detailed under section 13A-11-75.
Generally, no person may carry a handgun in a vehicle or concealed on or about his or her person, except on his or her
land, in his or her abode or fixed place of business, without a concealed handgun license. Sections 13A-11-73 and 13A-11-74.
This prohibition shall not apply, however, to any person permitted by law to possess a handgun while carrying it unloaded in
a secure wrapper, from the place of purchase to his or her home or place of business, or to or from a place of repair or in
moving from one place of abode or business to another. Section 13A-11-74. Violators may be imprisoned for up to one year,
fined up to $500, and their handguns seized and destroyed. Section 13A-11-84.
A person convicted of carrying a firearm concealed about his or her
person without a permit shall be fined not less than $50 nor more
than $500, and may be imprisoned in the county jail or sentenced
to hard labor for
the county for not more than six months.
Section
13A-11-50. However, a defendant being tried under section Section
13A-11-50 may give evidence that at the time of carrying the
concealed weapon, he has good reason to apprehend an attack,
which the jury may consider in mitigation of the punishment
or in justification of the offense. Section
13A-11-51.
Disclosure or Use of Information
The state Director of Public Safety shall receive a copy of all
licenses, and another copy shall be preserved for six years by
the appropriate county sheriff. Ala. Code § 13A-11-75.
There are no specific laws relating to the disclosure or use of information collected from licensees and applicants.
Duration & Renewal
A license to carry a concealed handgun shall expire not more than one
year from the date of issue. Ala. Code § 13A-11-75. The sheriff may revoke a license upon proof that the licensee is not a proper person to be licensed. Id.
Location Limits
See the Alabama Open Carrying/Exposed Firearms section for generally applicable location limits. The only one of these
location limits which does not apply to a holder of a valid concealed handgun license is the prohibition on carrying a
handgun on premises that are not one's own. See Ala. Code §§ 13A-11-52; 13A-11-73.
Reciprocity
Alabama generally recognizes reciprocal concealed weapons permits with other states, so long as those states recognize and give effect to Alabama concealed handgun licenses. Ala. Code § 13A-11-85. A license holder from another state shall carry a handgun in compliance with the laws of Alabama. Id.
For a list of states with which Alabama has entered into full or partial reciprocal agreements, see the Alabama Reciprocal Gun Law page of the Alabama Attorney General's website.
Brady Exemption
Concealed weapons permit holders in Alabama are not exempt from background checks when purchasing a firearm, according to the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) chart that outlines those permits that qualify as alternatives to the
Brady Act. Please note that ATF's exempt status determination for a given state is subject to change without notice.
Under federal law, persons who have been issued state permits to purchase or possess firearms are exempt from background checks if those permits were issued: 1) within the previous five years in the state in which the transfer is to take place; and 2) after an authorized government official has conducted a background investigation, including a search of the NICS database, to verify that possession of a firearm would not be unlawful. 18 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3), 27 C.F.R. § 478.102(d).
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No relevant statutes currently exist.
State administrative regulations govern the storage of firearms in licensed family and group day care and nighttime homes, foster family homes,
and residential child care facilities.
Ala. Admin. Code §§ 660-5-27-.04(2)(a)(9),
660-5-28-.03,
660-5-29-.01(3),
660-5-37-.05(9)(b),
660-5-42-.06.
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No retail dealer shall transfer, expose for transfer, or have in his or her possession with intent to transfer, any handgun without being licensed. Ala. Code § 13A-11-78.
Pursuant to section 13A-11-79, any city, town or political subdivision may grant retail firearms dealer licenses that are effective for not more than one year from the date of issue, subject to the following conditions:
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The business shall be carried on only in the building designated in the license;
The license or a copy thereof, certified by the issuing authority, shall be
displayed on the premises where it can easily be read; No handgun shall be sold in violation of state law; No handgun shall be sold unless the purchaser is personally known to the seller
or presents clear evidence of his or her identity; A record shall be made of every handgun sold, personally signed by the
purchaser and by the person effecting the sale, including the caliber, make, model and manufacturer's number of the weapon, the name, address, occupation, color and place of birth of
purchaser and a statement signed by the purchaser that he or
she has never been convicted of a crime of violence. Copies
must be sent to local law enforcement (where the dealer is a
resident) and the Secretary of State, and the dealer must
retain a copy for six years; and
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No handgun or
imitation handgun or placard advertising the sale thereof
shall be displayed where it can readily be seen from the
outside.
The fee for issuing a firearms dealer license is 50 cents. Id.
In most cases, violators of these provisions must forfeit their licenses and can be imprisoned for up to one year, fined up to $500,
or both. Section 13A-11-84.
However, sections 13A-11-70 –
13A-11-85 do not apply to the sale of handguns as curiosities or ornaments.
Section 13A-11-83.
Any person dealing in the sale of handguns is required to pay a designated license tax of $150 in cities and towns of 35,000 or more inhabitants, or $100 in all other places. Section 40-12-143. All persons dealing in handguns must also keep a permanent record of the sale of every handgun, including the date of sale, serial number or other identification marks, manufacturer's name, caliber and type, and the name and address of the purchaser. Id. This record shall be open for inspection by any peace officer of the State of Alabama or any municipality in the state. Id.
For state laws governing gun sales generally, see the Alabama Private/Secondary Sales section.
Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers
There are 1,036 federally licensed firearms dealers and pawnbrokers in Alabama. Federal firearms licensee totals for Alabama as of October 19, 2006 were provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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Alabama does not regulate gun shows. In addition, Alabama Code § 11-80-11(a) provides that "[n]o county or municipal corporation, instrumentality,
or political subdivision thereof, by ordinance, resolution, or other enactment, shall regulate in any manner gun shows."
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Alabama Code § 11-80-11(c) provides that the state Attorney General, by and with the consent of the Governor, has the exclusive authority
to bring or settle any lawsuit for damages, abatement, injunctive relief, or other equitable relief resulting from or relating to the design,
manufacture, marketing, or lawful sale of firearms or ammunition, or both, if the lawsuit is one:
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In which the
state has an exclusive interest or right to recover against
any firearm or ammunition manufacturer, trade association, or
dealer; or
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On behalf of any governmental unit created by or pursuant to an act of the Legislature or the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, or any department, agency, or authority thereof.
Section 11-80-11(c) does not prohibit a county or municipal corporation from bringing an action against a firearms or ammunition manufacturer or dealer for breach of contract or warranty as to firearms or ammunition purchased by the political subdivision or local governmental authority.
Alabama also immunizes sport shooting range owners and users from lawsuits. Section 6-5-341(b), applying to all private or public civil, injunctive, and nuisance actions, states that any person, firm, or entity who operates or uses a sport shooting range shall not be subject to civil liability or criminal prosecution in any matter relating to noise or noise pollution or lead or lead pollution resulting from the operation or use of the range. Section 6-5-341(b)(2). Furthermore, any person, firm, or entity that operates or uses a sport shooting range is not subject to an action for nuisance and is not subject to injunction to stop the use or operation of the shooting range on the basis of noise or noise pollution or lead or lead pollution. Section 6-5-341(b)(3). For these immunity provisions to apply, the range must be operated between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., and either must have been in existence prior to 1990 or was in compliance with any noise or lead control laws or ordinances that applied to the sport shooting range and its operation on August 1, 2001, or at the time the sport shooting range came into existence, whichever event occurred first. Section 6-5-341(b)(2), (3).
For detailed information about government and private party lawsuits against the gun industry, the status of litigation involving gun industry immunity statutes in various states, or pending gun industry immunity legislation, visit the Brady Center's Legal Action Project and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence's Gun Industry Immunity page.
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No relevant statutes currently exist.
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No relevant statutes currently exist.
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No relevant statutes currently exist.
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No relevant statutes currently exist.
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Alabama Code § 13A-11-57 prohibits any person from selling, giving or lending a handgun to any minor
(a person under age 18, see § 13A-11-76). Section 13A-11-76 prohibits the delivery of a handgun to any person
under the age of 18. However, section 13A-11-76 does not apply to the sale of handguns as curiosities or
ornaments. Section 13A-11-83.
There is
no minimum age to possess firearms under Alabama law, although
federal law generally prohibits the possession of a handgun or
handgun ammunition by anyone under the age of 18.
18 U.S.C.
§ 922(x)(2), (3) and (5).
Federal
law prohibits firearms dealers from selling or delivering a
shotgun or rifle, or ammunition for a shotgun or rifle, to any
person the dealer knows or has reasonable cause to believe is
under the age of 18.
18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(1), (c)(1). Dealers are prohibited
from selling or delivering other firearms (e.g., handguns) or
ammunition for those firearms to any person the dealer knows
or has reasonable cause to believe is under the age of 21. Id.
Federal
law provides less stringent age restrictions with respect to
sales by unlicensed persons. Unlicensed persons generally may
not sell, deliver or otherwise transfer a handgun or handgun
ammunition to any person the transferor knows or has
reasonable cause to believe is under the age of 18.
18 U.S.C. § 922(x)(1), (3) and (5). Neither federal nor Alabama law provides an age limitations with respect to the sale of a long gun by an unlicensed person.
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No relevant statutes currently exist.
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No relevant statutes currently exist.
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Private
firearms transfers (i.e., transfers by non-firearms
dealers) are not subject to a background check requirement in
Alabama, although federal and state purchaser prohibitions
still apply. See the
Alabama Background Checks
section.
Generally, no person shall make any loan secured by a mortgage, deposit or pledge of a handgun, nor shall any person lend,
give or otherwise deliver a handgun to another person contrary to the provisions of Ala. Code §§ 13A-11-70 – 13A-11-85. Section 13A-11-80.
See the Alabama Dealer Regulations section for details. In addition, no person may deliver a handgun to any person under age 18, or
to any person he or she has reasonable cause to believe has been convicted of a crime of violence, or is a drug addict, a habitual
drunkard, or of unsound mind. Section 13A-11-76.
In most cases, violators can be imprisoned for up to one year, fined up to $500, or both. Section 13A-11-84.
Sections 13A-11-70 – 13A-11-85 do not apply to the sale of handguns as curiosities or ornaments.
Section 13A-11-83.
Ala. Code § 13A-11-57 prohibits any person from selling, giving or lending a handgun to any minor (a person under age 18, see § 13A-11-76).
Section 13A-11-76 prohibits the delivery of a handgun to any person under the age of 18. However, section 13A-11-76 does not apply to the
sale of handguns as curiosities or ornaments. Section 13A-11-83.
Any person who possesses, obtains, receives, sells, or uses a firearm after the maker, model, manufacturer's number or other mark or identification has been changed, altered, removed, or obliterated is guilty of a Class C felony. Section 13A-11-64(b).
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Pursuant to Alabama Code § 13A-11-79, a retail firearms dealer must keep a record of every handgun sold, personally signed by the purchaser and by the person effecting the sale, including the caliber, make, model and manufacturer's number of the weapon, the name, address, occupation, color and place of birth of purchaser and a statement signed by the purchaser that he or she has never been convicted of a crime of violence. Copies must be sent to local law enforcement (where the dealer is a resident) and the Secretary of State, and the dealer must retain a copy for six years. Id.
All persons dealing in handguns must also keep a permanent record of the sale of every handgun, including the date of sale, serial number or other identification marks, manufacturer's name, caliber and type, and the name and address of the purchaser. Section 40-12-143. This record shall be open for inspection by any peace officer of the State of Alabama or any municipality in the state. Id.
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No
relevant statutes currently exist. A 48-hour waiting period
for handguns was repealed in 2000 by Section 4 of Act
2000-762.
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