Alabama handgun permit

No photo for the Blount County permit and no serial number either. My permit is "unrestricted" which covers any (otherwise legal) handgun that I choose to carry. Added: also no fingerprints or references required.

In Jefferson County, AL

No photo, or fingerprints required~! Just fill out the application card,
pay $7.50 a year (unless you want it laminated, which brings the total
to $10); they ran a background check thru NCIC, and usually you have
your license by the end of the week. Then its $7.50 per year, which is
renewable by mail.

*FootNote: three (3) references required on the reverse side of the card;
along with a 6 months residency,

Keep in mind that the issuing authority made add various restrictions like no carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol. I recieved one that said I could not carry openly (which is perfectly legal in this state, without a permit).

I don't think that open carry is allowed in AL either with or without a permit. Also, as I understand the law, AL has preemption. Meaning the county can print whatever restrictions they like on the back of the permit, it makes no difference. State firearms laws supercede local ones. I am not a lawyer.

I had no problem getting mine. I also understand that you only have to register one gun and can carry any gun you want not just the one you got the permit for.

I don't think that open carry is allowed in AL either with or without a permit.

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Open carry is allowed on foot without a permit, but not in a vehicle:

http://opencarry.org/al.html

On a related note, they said on the news today that they're trying to make CCW issuance private, not public information.

But then again, if they don't bother to cover up the clipboard with all the names and signatures on it, it won't really matter.

Did you see any interesting names?

I had to do this also, seemed a little invasive to me.

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Hells yeah, it's invasive! I don't want the school knowing that I've got a CCW. It's really none of their business.

Did you see any interesting names?

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No names that I recognized, though I did note that the list was more than 2/3 women when I renewed mine in August. When my wife did hers, it was about 2/3 men.

Hey, Iam new here as if that stupid question dint give me away. I do have a serious question about advising my brother in law on what to purchase for home defense. He doesn't have much experience with hand guns so I sugested a revolver. maybe a .357 for several reasons. tell me if I am in the right forum if not where I should take the question besides straight to h@#$ thanks.

Click the search button and type in "Home defense".

To summarize all the threads you'll read:

There will be pros and cons on each side of the debates between ARs vs. Shotguns, Shotguns vs. handguns, 9mm vs. 45, 1911 vs. Glock, etc. You'll never really know which side of the fence you'll be on until you try everything you can. Keep whatever you feel most comfortable with.

Thanks if i have more questions about posting and navigation ect where should i go

Probably the Site Maintenance sub forum.

I've had permits issued by Etowah, Shelby, & Jefferson.

I'm originally from Etowah County so that was my first. The process was simple, cheap, and relatively quick (I think it was 3 days). That has been YEARS ago though so I don't know what it's like now. My guess is that it's still not a problem.

Shelby County is the most expensive but is also the fastest and easiest. Walk in with your money and info, you get run through the computer, and you walk out with your permit.

Jefferson is not a problem, but I ALWAYS go to the Bessemer office. It's less busy and they people are always friendly to me. I think the form says it can take 3 weeks, but mine was ready the same day. They do require 3 references and 6 months residence.

Tuscaloosa is AFAIK, the worst of the lot. One of my buddies is in his 40's and served in the Army and Coast Guard. But because he decided to go back to school and is a student, he had to go and apply to the Sheriff's office AND the campus police. It's a screwy setup where one won't approve it until the other will and they seem to take their own sweet time.

Tuscaloosa is AFAIK, the worst of the lot. One of my buddies is in his 40's and served in the Army and Coast Guard. But because he decided to go back to school and is a student, he had to go and apply to the Sheriff's office AND the campus police. It's a screwy setup where one won't approve it until the other will and they seem to take their own sweet time.

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I don't see the point unless you live on campus, and then your firearm is supposed to be kept with UAPD anyway. It shouldn't matter whether the UAPD approves it or not, although I suppose they have access to a great deal of relevant information about applicants that the sheriff's office doesn't. It only matters because the sheriff's department allows it to matter.

Yeah... The state says that pistol permits are issued by the SHERIFF of each county. Doesn't say anything about local PD.

But Tuscaloosa Sheriff's office has involved the campus police in on the deal. I think the real reason is two-fold: A) They don't want a student to have one so they make the process seem difficult. and B) The campus police wants to have a "talk" with you to make sure you understand that you're not supposed to have a gun on campus, even if you have a permit. That's what they did with my friend.

Think about this though: The "Strip" is technically part of the campus. What happens if you are carrying with a permit and are traveling down University Blvd and have a wreck on the strip? Are you going to get jacked up if the responding officer notices you? A lot of people drive though there that aren't students. What if you work or shop at that Publix which is technically on campus? Can you not legally carry your gun?

The whole thing is very confusing to me. I don't recall seeing anything in the AL laws that says that school zones are a no-no **IF** you have a permit. But, I've always heard that it is a violation to carry at a school.

It's just a violation of Campus policies. That's why I never understood those bills to "make it legal" to carry on campus. That bill had to have just been political posturing. It's already legal because it isn't illegal. A School is considered to be a K-12, IIRC. UA is not a K-12, so it's not prohibited to carry there.

I didn't see anything in the bill to revoke the policies of the schools, so the bill seemed to be nothing more than a statement.

On a related note, I just heard that there was an informal survey given as a part of a class that showed roughly 50% of of students here owned guns. (Of those 50%?) about 30% left them in their cars, which is a violation of the campus firearm policies. The same informal survey was given at a school in Texas, and the proportions were "much higher". Maybe they just didn't feel the need to lie about it.

3 Alabama bills need our support

Since the thread is essentially Alabama-specific, please see this link at NRA-ILA for 3 pending bills that need our immediate support.

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?id=4757

As to permit: Shelby Co., $20 in person the first time, took 20 minutes. Renew annually by mail, takes 2 days from mailing renewal check to receipt of new permit. No registration of any kind. God bless Sheriff Curry and his Department. They do an excellent job.

Thanks,ALHunter! I have contacted my rep about these pending bills.

marklbucla,

I agree with your assessment of those bills. I had a brief conversation with one of their sponsors and I told him as much. If a law could be crafted to prevent such entities from creating such policies, I would be happy. Oh well.

Re: K-12: Can you tell me where to look for that one. I have always assumed it was illegal, but the last time I looked I couldn't find the relevant code. It looked to me as if it said it was illegal without the proper permit.

My permit says, "Warning: State and Federal laws strictly regulate the possession of firearms in certain areas that include schools, federal, state, county and city buildings, and air terminals.

I'm curious where someone legally stands when they drive through the pickup line at a school to get their kids.

http://www.ago.state.al.us/issue/Alabama_Weapon_Law.pdf

It looks like this file got updated, but here's a bunch of the Alabama laws.