Alabama: State Firearms Laws

(As of August 1995)

PLEASE NOTE: In addition to state laws, the purchase, sale and (in certain circumstances) the possession and interstate transportation of firearms is regulated by the Gun Control Act of 1968 as amended by the Firearms Owners' Protection Act. Also, cities and localities may have their own firearms ordinances in addition to federal and state laws. Details may be obtained by contacting local law enforcement authorities, and by consulting the State Laws and Published Ordinances -- Firearms, available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.

Quick Reference Chart

                          Rifles and
                          Shotguns      Handguns
                          ______________________
Permit to Purchase           No           No*
Registration of Firearms     No           No
Licensing of Owner           No           No 
Permit to Carry              No           Yes

*Waiting Period

State Constitutional Provision

"That every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state." Article 1, Section 26.

Possession

No state permit is required to possess a rifle, shotgun, or handgun(1). It is unlawful for a drug addict, habitual drunkard, or one who has been convicted of a crime of violence(2) to own, possess, or have under his control, a handgun. Law enforcement authorities have advised that minors cannot carry or possess a handgun.

  1. A handgun is defined as any firearm with a barrel less than 12 inches.
  2. A crime of violence is defined as committing or attempting to commit murder, manslaughter (except vehicular), rape, mayhem, robbery, burglary, kidnapping, larceny, and assault with intent to rob, ravish, or murder.

Purchase

To purchase a handgun, the buyer must complete an application to purchase. The application must be filled out in triplicate and delivered to the seller. The form contains the purchaser's name, address, occupation, color, place of birth, the date and hour of application, the caliber, make, model, and serial number of the firearm, and a statement that the purchaser has never been convicted of a crime of violence. The seller is required to mail one form within six hours after such application to the chief of police of the municipality or the county sheriff of which the seller is a resident, one copy is sent to the public safety director within seven days, and one copy is to be kept by the seller for six years.

The seller must wait forty-eight hours after the application has been completed before delivering the handgun to the purchaser. The handgun must be unloaded and securely wrapped when delivered.

It is unlawful to deliver a handgun to any person under 18, or to a person whom the seller has reasonable cause to believe has been convicted of a crime of violence, is a drug addict, is an habitual drunkard, or is of unsound mind.

Carrying

No person shall carry a handgun in any vehicle or concealed on or about his person without a license to carry. A permit is not required when a person on foot carries an unconcealed handgun on public property or when a person is on his own land or in his own abode or in his fixed place of business.

Exempt from this prohibition are:

  1. Law enforcement personnel.
  2. Military personnel when on duty or going to or from duty.
  3. The regularly enrolled members of any organization duly authorized to purchase or receive such weapons from the state or U.S., when such members are at or are going to or from their places of assembly or target practice. (It is generally agreed that the "NRA exception" permits the carrying of unloaded cased handguns in the trunk of an automobile directly to a place of assembly or target practice and back.)
  4. Persons carrying unloaded handguns in a secure wrapper from a place of purchase to one's 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.
Exempt from prohibition of carrying a handgun on premises not his own or under his control are: peace officers, rural free delivery mail carriers, conductors, railway mail clerks, and express messengers, in the discharge of their duties.

A qualified or unlimited license to carry a handgun in a vehicle or concealed on or about one's person for not more than one year may be issued by a sheriff of the county where the applicant resides if it appears the applicant has good reason to fear injury to his person or property or has any other proper reason for carrying a handgun, and that "he is a suitable person" to be so licensed. The sheriff may revoke a license upon proof that the license holder is not a "proper person to be licensed." The fee for a license varies, depending on the county.

Rifles and shotguns carried in a vehicle must be unloaded.

Antiques and Replicas

Handguns possessed as curiosities or ornaments are exempt from the provisions on purchase, possession, sale, or to the transportation of such handguns unloaded and in a bag, box, or securely wrapped package, but not concealed on the person. The same provisions apply to handguns, rifles, or shotguns made in or before 1898, or to blackpowder replicas not made to fire fixed ammunition.

Machine Guns

There are no state prohibitions against machine guns provided that federal law is complied with.

Miscellaneous

It is unlawful to change, alter, remove, or obliterate the name of the maker, model, serial number, or other mark of identification of any handgun. It shall be prima facie evidence that the possessor of such handgun performed the unlawful act.

It is unlawful to make any loan secured by a mortgage, deposit, or pledge of a handgun.

It is unlawful to supply false information or evidence in purchasing or otherwise securing delivery of a pistol, or in applying for a license to carry a handgun.

It is unlawful to possess any firearm on one's person or in a vehicle while attending or participating in any demonstration at a public place, or within 1,000 feet of a demonstration after being warned by a police officer.

Units of local government have no power to enact any ordinance, rule, or regulation which shall tax, restrict, prevent, or in any way affect the possession of ownership of handguns.

It is unlawful to possess or sell brass or steel teflon coated handgun ammunition or to have such ammunition in a person's immediate possession in the commission of a felony.

It is unlawful to carry or possess any firearm within any wildlife management without a "permit allowing this privilege."

It is unlawful to hunt or discharge a firearm within 100 yards of any road or railroad without permission from an adjacent landowner.

Sources: Code of Alabama Sections 9-11-304, 9-11-257, 13A-11-50 et seq.

Caution: State firearms laws are subject to frequent change. The above summary is not to be considered as legal advice or a restatement of law. To determine the applicability of these laws to specific situations which you may encounter, you are strongly urged to consult a local attorney.

                  Compiled by:
        NRA Institute for Legislative Action
              11250 Waples Mill Road
              Fairfax, Virginia 22030

   (c)  1995, NRA Institute for Legislative Action.

NS 00970                             Rev. 8/95 10M