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Alabama state laws

eye95

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Jan 6, 2010
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13,524
Location
Fairborn, Ohio, USA
Open carry is legal in Alabama.

Birmingham city is not allowed to restrict OC, but the do prohibit in some of their facilities. They'll be marked. Jonathon has been working to change this, but the city council is being thick.

Two OCers were arrested in Birmingham for "disorderly conduct" and are fighting the charge. Still, it's a hassle, even if they win.

Carry in a car requires a permit. Don't carry at a demonstration (or near a demonstration if informed by a LEO.)

You'll get more responses in the Alabama sub-forum below.

Also, be sure to visit AlabamaOpenCarry.com.

Oh, and welcome.
 

aadvark

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Furthermore, Open Carry is Preempted State-wide under Alabama Code 1975 11-80-11, AND by Alabama Code 1975 11-45-1.1 (which is exclusively for Pistols)!

Due to State-wide Preemption, and no State Statute against Public Building Carry, Openly Carrying Firearms into Public Buildings throughout Alabama, including Courthouses/Jails/Prisons, is Perfectly Legal!
 

eye95

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I don't recommend carrying into these buildings with armed LEOs manning the checkpoints. The law is one thing. Reality is another. We are working to get Birmingham into compliance with the State law.
 

aadvark

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eye95:

Notwithstanding your analysis that [Open Carry in Public Buildings] it is not the most decisive action..., will eye95 aknowledge that Open Carry in the aforementioned Public Buildings is in fact Legal?

aadvark

***It is within my belief that Alabama Law should be treasured as one of the few select States where Adult Law-abiding Citizens, who are not Criminals having been Convicted of Felony Crimes of Violence, can actually contemplate Carrying a Firearm into these Areas named herein.***
 

eye95

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Yes and no. It is legal to carry into, for example, Birmingham City Hall. (However, there are armed police at the entrance who beg to differ). It is illegal to carry into a courtroom. The Alabama Code has a provision that allows a security committee to make safety rules for State courtrooms. This committee has, in turn, made the rule prohibiting firearms in the courts.

IANAL.
 

aadvark

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I am not a Lawyer either, but..., Birmingham Police are acting contrary to Alabama Law for refusing to allow Firearms into The City Hall Complex.
 

eye95

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Feel free to try to exercise your rights at the city hall.

When several of us went to three city council meetings to try to change the city's policy, we disarmed.
 

dhull520

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Dec 24, 2010
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Alabama
As far as I understand, when it comes to pistols, Alabama is NOT an open carry state. Here is what I found on numerous sites not referring to actual gun shows...

§ 13A-11-52. Carrying pistol on premises not his own; who may carry pistol.
No person shall carry a pistol about his person on premises not his own or under his control, except licensed persons, or law enforcement officers and those who hold other particular positions.

This means you have to have a concealed weapons permit to carry a pistol unless it is on your own land. As far as other weapons go, under my interpretation, i believe they are open carry allowable.
 

eye95

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I will bump a thread in the Alabama area that I started earlier this year. After an extensive discussion, Mike, one of the site owners, posted one key fact that brought all the other arguments together in to a cohesive whole.

He pointed to an AL Supreme Court decisions that prevents the State legislature from regulating both OC and CC. The State clearly chose to regulate CC, so OC is unregulated. The section to which you referred can only apply to CC, and -73, a later statute, is a complete revision of the matter. -52 can only be read in a way that does not conflict with -73.

Anyway, read the whole argument after I bump it. I quite strongly take the view that you now have and am completely turned around.

Oh, and if you search other threads in the AL area, you will run across a thread about my first encounter with Montgomery Police Department officers. As a result of that incident, the MPD and the city attorney's office both agree that OC is lawful. I have had a second encounter. While it never should have happened, it went smoother because the officers knew that they had no recourse against OC.

I'll go bump those threads now.
 

OLEDAVE

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Feb 17, 2010
Messages
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Location
Alabama
There have been several Alabama Supreme Court decisions and Attorney General opinions through the years that prove open carry is legal in Alabama. This is the key for me:

Section 13A-11-55
Indictment for carrying weapons unlawfully; proof.

In an indictment for carrying weapons unlawfully, it is sufficient to charge that the defendant carried CONCEALED about his person a pistol, or other description of firearms, on premises not his own, or a bowie knife, or other knife or instrument of the like kind or description, or other forbidden weapon, describing it, as the case may be; and the excuse, if any, must be proved by the defendant on the trial, to the satisfaction of the jury; and if the evidence offered to excuse the charge raises a reasonable doubt of the defendant's guilt, the jury must acquit him.
(Code 1852, §586; Code 1867, §4136; Code 1876, §4809; Code 1886, §3779; Code 1896, §4424; Code 1907, §6425; Acts 1919, No. 204, p. 196; Code 1923, §3491; Code 1940, T. 14, §166; Code 1975, §13-6-125.)

Visit alabamaopencarry.com and check out the Documents and Tools section. Then come on over to the Forum and join us!
 
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