imported post
The Florida non-res permit is popular. It does cost less, has more reciprocity(or about the same) , fewer requirements/prerequisites, and a longer expiration time. And if you are in FL, is covers more than firearms (i.e. stun guns and knifes). But look closer at the previous post and you might find that
If you are a resident of Al, you
must get an AL permit.
I found this quote from Florida Dept of Licensing, maybe their website is not up to date with the latest laws.
http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/news/concealed_carry.html stated:
(5) The Attorney General's Office of the State of ALABAMA has indicated that Alabama will honor BOTH resident and non-resident Florida licenses. However, the Alabama Attorney General notes that there is some uncertainty as to the limits of Alabama's reciprocity law as it pertains to non-resident licenses. Pending clarification by the Alabama Legislature or a decision by an Alabama court, he urges non-resident Florida license holders to exercise caution. Refer to the Alabama AG's Web page for the latest information.
I recently ran into the same thing with Louisiana. The way the law stands today March 6th, I CAN be a La resident and use a FL non-res permit here in La. I was told this week, from a fairly knowledgable NRA instructor, that it will be a matter of time until this issue is revisited, and it might be a waste of my money (it might only be good for a couple weeks or a year or something). The LA State Police tried to close this loophole last year with a "local policy".... The LA Legislature made them retract it because the LSP only
thinks they can write the laws, and LA Legislature actually does the law writing. I was told that I should probably just apply for the La resident permit, do the extra paper work & prerequisites (includes CHP class $, medical avidavits, liabilty waivers, divorce decree $, multiple notary visits $$$$) , fork out the extra dough (to the notary, CHP instructor, and the state), and live with the fewer states reciprocating. (I think its fewer, I have not done a side-by-side comparison)
On the otherhand, another knowledgable person, here on OCDO named Turbodog, told me different spin on it. If LA closes the loophole (and If AL already has) that a non-res FL permit would still be good in 30 other states (other than SC, MI, CO, NH and it appears AL). Check out the link above for the full list and specific details on some states. Among those 30 states might be a couple of states that don't have reciprocity with LA (or with AL in your case). He told me that he feels that it is not a waste of my money even if LA (or AL) changed its laws.