The Demopolis Times

It seems recently the Alabama Sheriff’s Association has many of it’s members sending out statements that are almost uniform in nature blasting some of the laws proposed in this legislative session. Please examine the following note from one such Sheriff. The letters in caps are provided by a BamaCarry member and was submitted to the FB group. BamaCarry You might also like to check out our webpage http://www.bamacarry.com. Enjoy!!

The Sheriffs of Alabama stand firmly in support of the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights. We support the Constitution of the State of Alabama. We also stand united in our support of the 2nd Amendment. The founding fathers of our nation established the rule of law and we do not support those that oppose federal law enforcement officers performing their lawful duties.

HERE COMES THE “BUT”.

We have studied proposed legislation (particularly Alabama Senate Bill 129 and Alabama House Bill 55) regarding firearm laws in our state. We want the citizens of our state to know that these are bad bills and we strongly oppose them for a number of reasons. These bills will take away the authority of your Sheriff to perform his/her duty to investigate those applying for concealed weapons permits. The vast majority of our citizens, who apply for permits, are issued one within a very short time.

THIS IS A LIE! THE SHERIFFS’ WILL STILL HAVE THE ABILITY AND THE OBLIGATION TO INVESTIGATE THOSE APPLYING FOR A CONCEALED WEAPONS LICENSE. WHAT IT WILL DO IS FORCE THEM TO ISSUE A PERMIT IF THERE IS NOT A LEGAL REASON TO DENY IT.

We recognize and declare that the great majority of people who suffer from mental illnesses are not violent and not a threat to others. Because of how Alabama laws are written, there are large loopholes in our law that allow those that are mentally ill and violent to lawfully purchase a firearms today. These two proposed bills would make those loopholes even bigger. Your Sheriff works every day to keep Alabama citizens safe and protect the rights of county residents.

IF THESE LARGE LOOPHOLES EXIST, WHY HASN’T THE SHERIFFS’ ASSOCIATION WORKED TO CLOSE THESE LOOPHOLES BY MAKING IT MANDATORY FOR THE MENTALL ILL AND VIOLENT PEOPLE (WHO MUST BE DODGING ARREST, SINCE THEY ARE PROHIBITED IF CONVICTED OF VIOLENT CRIME) TO BE IN A SEARCHABLE SYSTEM? THEY HAVEN’T WORRIED ABOUT IT BECAUSE EVIDENTLY THEY ARE CLAIRVOYANT AND CAN LOOK AT SOMEONE AND TELL THEY ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR A PERMIT.
MY WORDS ARE IN CAPS
We believe that local officials are in the right position to make the best decisions about pistol permits and we need discretion – and the flexibility to use our discretion – to handle those duties.

THIRTY-NINE OTHER STATES GET ALONG JUST FINE GOING THROUGH LIFE AS SHALL-ISSUE STATES.

Under current law, the only violent mentally ill persons reported to NCIC are those who used a firearm; those who used a knife, vehicle, arson, or other means are not being reported to the NCIC system and can lawfully purchase/own a firearm in Alabama.

THAT IS NOT THE FAULT OF THE CITIZEN, THAT IS THE FAULT OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM, THAT THEY SEEM TO WANT TO KEEP STATUS QUO. THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE NICS SYSTEM IS AND HOW IT DIFFERS FROM THE NCIC SYSTEM.

Recently in Baldwin County, AL, two deputies were shot – one was killed – by a violent mentally ill person who could have lawfully purchased a firearm and under this proposed law would have been entitled to a pistol permit.

AND IF HE HAD A PERMIT, WHAT DIFFERENCE WOULD IT HAVE MADE? NOT HAVING A PERMIT DID NOT STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING. THIS IS A STRAWMAN ARGUMENT BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE ANY REAL FACTS TO GO ON.

Recent events in Dale County highlight the weaknesses in Alabama about mentally ill persons with firearms.

AGAIN, DEFLECTING THE ISSUE. THE MENTALLY ILL PERSON WAS NOT STOPPED BY NOT HAVING A PISTOL CARRY LICENSE.

The proposed legislation:

• will put into law unreasonable penalties for public officials attempting to perform their duties

IT WILL FORCE CITIES AND COUNTIES TO ADHERE TO THE LAW, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE UPHELD BY SHERIFFS SUCH AS THESE.

• will take away rights of property owners to control their private property or places of business

PROPERTY OWNERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO DENY ENTRY TO ANYONE WITH OR WITHOUT THIS LAW. IT’S CALLED TRESPASSING. THESE BILLS DO NOT TOUCH THAT LAW

• will take away the authority of local government to protect public buildings such as schools, courthouses, and other similar facilities

THAT IS A LIE.

• will allow radical organizations to come armed to public demonstrations

IT WILL ALLOW CITIZENS TO HAVE ARMS FOR THEIR DEFENSE, SO THEY DO NOT HAVE TO GIVE UP THEIR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS IN ORDER TO EXERCISE THEIR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.

• will make it easier for criminals to obtain concealed pistol permits

THIS IS A SCARE TACTIC TO MAKE PEOPLE THINK THAT MURDERERS AND RAPISTS WILL BE LINING UP TO GET PISTOL PERMITS. THE LAWS ARE ALREADY WRITTEN THAT UNLESS THE CRIME WAS A CRIME OF VIOLENCE, THERE IS NO PROHIBITION ON ISSUING A PISTOL LICENSE TO SOMEONE WITH NON-VIOLENT MISDEMEANORS. THESE BILLS WOULD NOT CHANGE THAT.

• will take away control from organizations such as churches over firearms being brought into their buildings and properties

ANOTHER LIE. ALREADY COVERED. TRESPASSING.

For example, in Calhoun County last month, a man telephoned a threat about his ex-wife and went to her residence with 3 firearms in his vehicle. He was a concealed weapon permit holder and if this bill became law, we could not suspend that man’s permit.

SO WRITE AN AMENDMENT TO THIS BILL THAT WILL ALLOW THAT. DON’T WRECK THE WHOLE BILL BECAUSE YOU SEE HOLES IN IT THAT NEED PATCHED.

Every day, Alabama law enforcement deals with these types of incidents and we use our lawful discretion to protect our citizens. Your Sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer of their county and we understand the laws of the State of Alabama.

HALF THE SHERIFFS IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA DO NOT KNOW THE LAWS IN REGARDS TO GUNS. THAT IS EVIDENT WHEN HALF OF THEM CLAIM THAT OPEN CARRY IS AGAINST THE LAW AND THE OTHER HALF KNOW IT’S LEGAL. WE ARE DOING THEM A FAVOR BY SIMPLIFYING THE LAWS. THE FEWER LAWS ON THE BOOKS, THE LESS THEIR BRAINS HAVE TO WRAP AROUND.