Hollowpoint38
Regular Member
imported post
Works for me! Where do we get the emails? What is the website?
Works for me! Where do we get the emails? What is the website?
I really like it. Nicely done. But I think you need to find a better way to phrase the sections in red. We don't want to appear as racists and get brushed aside.This is my 2 page letter going to the State Legislators.
Many of us in the gun-owning community are looking for some pro-gun, pro-civil rights legislators to come to our aid and make some changes in the current gun laws. There are really only two problems with the current laws that cause us concern. These two laws are in the criminal code: 13A-11-52 and 13A-11-73.
13A-11-52 reads: “Except as otherwise provided in this article, no person shall carry a pistol about his person on premises not his own or under his control; but this section shall not apply to any sheriff or his deputy or police officer of an incorporated town or city in the lawful discharge of the duties of his office, or to United States marshal or his deputies, rural free delivery mail carriers in the discharge of their duties as such, bonded constables in the discharge of their duties as such, conductors, railway mail clerks and express messengers in the discharge of their duties.”
13A-11-73 reads: “No person shall carry a pistol in any vehicle or concealed on or about his person, except on his land, in his own abode or fixed place of business, without a license therefor as hereinafter provided.”
Both of these laws have been changed and re-written several times which shows the problems they have had. They are simply bad laws and need to be repealed. Here are the reasons why.
First, in -52, the section “no person shall carry a pistol about his person on premises not his own or under his control” is a lie and a violation of the State Constitution.
Alabama has always recognized the right of a citizen to carry guns (pistol, rifle, shotgun) for self-defense or defense of the state. A pistol is the easiest and most common weapon used for this purpose, as our police, deputies and troopers all carry pistols.
Alabama has been an Open Carry state since it was founded. Our laws, Supreme Court rulings, Attorneys General opinions, etc. all prove the recognized right of a citizen to openly carry a pistol for any lawful purpose. This law above could be applied to make hunting and target practice with a pistol illegal unless on your own property. Meaning you could be arrested for taking your pistol to a gun range for target practice.
This section, if read carefully, is actually to authorize those listed as exceptions to carry firearms onto private property in the performance of their jobs. The phrase “discharge of their duties” is used four times to prove just that.
Second, in -73, the original law stated “no person shall carry a “concealed” pistol in any vehicle or concealed on or about his person…”. This law has several problems.
1. If you have gun, it must be carried in the trunk if you are unlicensed. For those of us who carry openly unlicensed, this means that every time we get in to the car we first have to remove the pistol from the holster, place the pistol in the trunk and when we arrive at our destination, retrieve the pistol and re-holster it. If you have several stops to make, this is a major inconvenience…unless you have a license.
2. This law does not let you protect yourself in a car with a pistol which violates the recently passed law commonly referred to as the Castle Doctrine…unless you have a license.
3. The law makes no distinction as to whether carrying in the trunk of a car is considered to be concealed or not. This has been the topic of discussion in the forums of many pro-gun websites.
4. This law makes no distinction between “covering” or “concealed”. Covering a gun was commonly practiced whenever the gun owner threw on a jacket, or when it was windy, rainy or cold outside. Concealing was the intentional hiding a gun as an act of deception - to appear unarmed. Covering shouldn’t be defined as “concealing”.
5. Carrying a gun, openly, is already a recognized right which is unlicensed. A license does not permit you to carry, it permits you to “cover” a gun you can already legally carry and/or to have it with you in a vehicle.
6. This law ONLY applies to pistols, not to rifles or shotguns. And since Alabama just passed the repeal on short-barrel rifles and shotguns, this law doesn’t apply to those weapons, either! Which means we can carry loads of weapons in our cars, we just can’t carry a pistol…where is the logic in that?
The history of the licensing of pistols goes back to the “black codes” when former slaves had to prove they were “good nig***s” before they could receive a license to carry a gun and not get beaten, which was the punishment for armed blacks after the War. The reason for licenses today has nothing to do with crime, because criminals don’t bother to get licenses. Licenses were created by “hoplophobes” (someone with a fear of weapons or armed citizens) to feel better about their fellow man. They think “if someone has a license that means they have been checked out and are “good nig***s, er, I mean, good people!” This means that licensing (background checks and fees) is actually a violation of our civil rights. Try explaining to any black gun owner in this state that they have to obey the same licensing laws their ancestors were forced to obey after they got their freedom.
These laws should be repealed as they are simply bad law and their constant revisions are proof of that. A license to carry “covered” what you can already carry “uncovered” is asinine. A citizen must have a “background check” and “purchase an annual license” to throw his jacket over his gun or have it with him in his car? I don’t need a background check to carry openly because the State recognizes that my self-defense is none of their business. But, according to the law, I can have a gun in my car, for self-protection, according to the Castle Doctrine…only if I pass their background check and pay a fee and renew it every year. Or, better yet, explain to the black gun owners of this state that, like their ancestors, they have to prove they are “good nig***s” before they can carry concealed or in their car.
Alabama gun owners should not be harassed or made to be criminals by the laws of the state as they go about their daily lives. However, at the present time, this is not the case. These laws on the books that are poorly written, have been changed multiple times because of this, and due to the ignorance or overzealousness of some in law-enforcement, have made citizens into criminals. These laws violate the Alabama Constitution, the US Constitution and they are violations of our civil rights. Just for these reasons alone, these laws should be repealed and stricken from the books.
We are hoping you can help us by coming to our aid to get this matter resolved. This letter is being sent to every member of the state house and senate in the hopes that one or more members will have the intestinal fortitude to stand up and do the right thing for the law-abiding citizens and gun-owners in the state.
In advance, I’d like to thank you for picking up this cause to restore our basic human and civil rights, as outlined in the Alabama Constitution and the US Constitution.
Fixed it for you.The second problem: Under the United States Constitution and the Alabama Constitution, I have the right to peacefully protest.