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Alabama Pistol Permit (Autauga County)

jeremyabbott

Regular Member
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Jun 12, 2008
Messages
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Location
Prattville, Alabama, USA
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I recently moved to Alabama from Florida. In Florida I was issued a Concealed Weapon of Firearm License (expires in 7/2010).

On 11/2007 I was issued a State of Alabama Pistol Permit from Autauga County. This license states, "License to carry a pistol concealed on the person or in the vehicle is herby granted."

Now, on the back of the license, it states,

"WARNING
1. This pistol permit does not permit you to carry a gun openly.
2. Your pistol permit is void if you are arrested, on any charge.
3. Your pistol permit does not allow you to carry a pistol in any place that serves alcohol or while you are drinking or using illegal drugs.
4. Your pistol permit is also void in any air terminal or in any Court House or other public building whether City, County, State, or Federal.
5. If you carry a pistol under any of the above conditions where it is void, you will be subject to ARREST for carrying a concealed weapon."

I thought Alabama was an open carry state? I even called the Autauga County Sheriff's Department and he stated open carry is ILLEGAL in Alabama. It's either concealed or nothing at all.

Here are the Florida restrictions:

The following is a list of places where you are restricted from carrying a weapon or firearm even if you have a license. Please note that this is a simplified list. The places marked by an asterisk (*) may have exceptions or additional restrictions. See Section 790.06 (12), Florida Statutes for a complete listing.


1. any place of nuisance as defined in s. 823.05
2. any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station
3. any detention facility, prison, or jail; any courthouse
4. any courtroom*
5. any polling place
6. any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special district
7. any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof
8. any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms
9. any school administration building
10. any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption*
11. any elementary or secondary school facility
12. any area technical center
13. any college or university facility*
14. inside the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport*
15. any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law
 

kurtmax_0

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Apr 22, 2007
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794
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Auburn, Alabama, USA
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Open carry is indeed legal in Alabama. You could very well have your pistol permit revoked and have to go to court to get it back though.

May I direct you to http://alabamagunrights.org/?page_id=8

State v Reid may be the most interesting. It's the latest AL Supco case on the issue, and the chief justice seems to think that the only way to defensively carry a firearm is unconcealed....

The tri-fold also explains stuff well and AG OP from 1984 is pretty straightforward.

Unfortunately your Florida permit is not valid in Alabama as long as you are a resident here, so you are at the whim of the Sheriff. Others here may tell you that the Sheriff can't revoke your permit without a valid reason. They are absolutely right, but you may need to hire a layer to show the Sheriff the way...

Oh, and welcome to OCDO!
 

jeremyabbott

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Jun 12, 2008
Messages
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Location
Prattville, Alabama, USA
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Thanks for the input. I read the tri-fold and even mentioned it to my wife. What thru me off was the back of my Autauga Co. permit.

The state statutes in Alabama are confusing; however there are those few court cases that back up our right to open carry.

Thanks again for the reply.
 

ProguninTN

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, Tennessee, USA
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Listen to kurt_max. When my roommate (from AL), got his pistol permit in another county, it had the same bogus restrictions on the back. The problem in AL is that the Sheriffs are adding restrictions which are not codified in state statutes. (ie prohibiting open carry and prohibiting carry where alcohol is sold) Alabamians need to challenge these sheriffs in court, and perhaps push for the legislature to rewrite the statute more clearly.

ProguninTN
 

kurtmax_0

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Auburn, Alabama, USA
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Well. If a Sheriff issues a qualified permit he can restrict times and places it is valid. Most Sheriff's don't issue 'qualified' permits. Most don't even know there are two kinds of permits!

Restrictions on OC, however, aren't valid since it doesn't require a permit in the first place. So if you were issued a qualified license that prohibited carrying into a bar, then you could just carry unconcealed and be legal....

You may notice that some permits have 'tricksy' language like: "This permit does not allow you to carry openly." That's 100% correct. You don't even need a permit to do so.
 

jeremyabbott

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Jun 12, 2008
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Location
Prattville, Alabama, USA
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kurtmax_0 wrote:
You may notice that some permits have 'tricksy' language like: "This permit does not allow you to carry openly." That's 100% correct. You don't even need a permit to do so.
Haha, you are I were thinking on the same wavelength. If I do open carry, I will not bring my CC license; probably just leave it in the car (where needed).
 

Grizzly Adams

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Jun 13, 2008
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Hey Kurt, see you are still giving advice! Keep it up and you'll have to hang up your shingle.:uhoh: You have taken me up on stopping by on your way to Montgomery.

Buel
 

kurtmax_0

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Well I went to the gun show in Montgomery Saturday so it must have been one of those people...

Anyways. I'm not an attorney so it'd probably be illegal to start a business giving advice. I have fun researching these sorts of things anyways so I don't care not getting paid.
 

kurtmax_0

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Auburn, Alabama, USA
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You may also want to make it clear to him that detaining you for any amount of time simply for carrying a firearm is illegal. There is no 'Gun exception' to the 4th amendment.

If you are stopped and disarmed. IDed, or if they 'check your pistol to see if it's stolen' to call your attorney ASAP and get some phat lootz. (Sorry... i just had to find a place to say that :))
 

jeremyabbott

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Jun 12, 2008
Messages
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Location
Prattville, Alabama, USA
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kurtmax_0 wrote:
You may also want to make it clear to him that detaining you for any amount of time simply for carrying a firearm is illegal. There is no 'Gun exception' to the 4th amendment.

If you are stopped and disarmed. IDed, or if they 'check your pistol to see if it's stolen' to call your attorney ASAP and get some phat lootz. (Sorry... i just had to find a place to say that :))
I do not have a problem with them asking me for ID or to check to see if my gun is stolen. I am not doing anything illegal; so it doesnt bother me.
 

kurtmax_0

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Well if they check if your gun is stolen they should make sure your pants aren't stolen either. Police should stop anyone wearing pants to check to see if they are stolen.

It's not legal... mmkay? If it's okay with you it's fine, but it can be successfully challenged in court. There's nothing special about a firearm that allows police to search you anymore than anything else. Well, actually there is something special about a firearm: keeping and bearing them is a right. Wearing pants is not an enumerated right....
 

Comp-tech

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Location
, Alabama, USA
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.....not to mention the fact that there is no law mandating that you carry nor show ID....(DL excepted if you happen to be driving)
CoA Section 15-5-30 states ".....a sheriff or other officer....may demand of him his name, address and an explanation of his actions"
 

kurtmax_0

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I'm not quite sure, but, I thought that only applied to Terry stops. That means an officer would have to have reasonable suspicion that you were violating a crime before asking.

If the officer doesn't have 'specific and articulable facts' than it's a BS stop. Just carrying a firearm isn't a crime, and cannot be a reasonable reason to stop you.

In addition, in the part 31, if you aren't arrested they must return your firearm.
 
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