Alabama Gun Bill Alert (HB 6000)

[ojibweindian]

While cruising around Legal and Political, I learned that there is a proposal by Rep. Hilliard to register automatic and semi-automatic weapons with the state and to gather and maintain the full name, address, dob, etc of the owners.

The text of the bill is:

A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT

To require each person who possesses an automatic or semi-automatic weapon to register the weapon with the Department of Public Safety pursuant to procedures established by the department; to define automatic or semi-automatic weapon; to restrict the use of the information received from the registrants; to provide for fees and penalties; to provide for the disposition of the fees and penalties; and in connection therewith would have as its purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:

Section 1. This Act shall be known and cited as the "George Amison Jr. Act".

Section 2. (a)(1) Any person who possesses an automatic or semi-automatic weapon shall register the weapon with the Department of Public Safety pursuant to the procedures established by the department. The registration shall contain a description of the weapon that identifies it uniquely, including all identification marks, the full name, address, date of birth, and thumbprint of the owner, and any other information that the department may deem appropriate. The department may charge a fee for registration of up to fifty dollars ($50).

(2) The department shall maintain the information received from each registrant in an automatic or semi-automatic weapon registry and information contained in the registry shall be released only to law enforcement officers.

(b)(1) Failure to register an automatic or semi-automatic weapon is a Class A misdemeanor.

(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (1), failure to register an automatic or semi-automatic weapon is a Class C felony if the weapon has been used by the person in the commission of a crime.

(c) The proceeds from the fees or fines received or collected by the department or any court under this act, less administration and processing costs, shall be deposited into the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Fund.

Section 3. For purposes of this act the term "automatic or semi-automatic weapon" shall mean a weapon that shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, a succession of bullets so long as the trigger is depressed or until the ammunition supply is exhausted or a weapon that fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, without the need to manually operate a bolt, lever, or other firing or loading mechanism. The term does not include any firearm modified to render the weapon permanently inoperable.

Section 4. Although this bill would have as its purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds, the bill is excluded from further requirements and application under Amendment 621, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, because the bill defines a new crime or amends the definition of an existing crime.

Section 5. The provisions of this act are severable. If any part of this act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, that declaration shall not affect the part which remains.

Section 6. This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Link to the bill is: http://www.legislature.state.al.us/SearchableInstruments/2007RS/Bills/HB600.htm

This bill is new enough that GOA wasn't aware of it (I've called and emailed them a few minutes ago).

Please contact your Alabama state representative and senator as soon as possible. Let's kill this bill before it even gets a chance to crawl.

 

[MeekandMild]

Sample letter

This is a letter sent to a RKBA-friendly Alabama weekly newspaper. RKBA friendly readers are encouraged to borrow from it to fit their own needs, however I'm retaining copyright and will sue (really--in front of an Alabama jury) anyone using it for anti-RKBA purposes.

Rust Never Sleeps - Birmingham representative plans
yet another wasteful gun registration scheme -

According to sources at http://www.thehighroad.org
this summer's rust in the machinery of Alabama
government comes in the form of a gun registration
scheme proposed by State Representative Patricia Todd
of District 54, Jefferson County. Every time a bill
like this gains momentum it puts another rust spot on
both our right to keep and bear arms and our budget.
You know rust comes back time and again so you can
expect the same bill to reappear in 2008, 2009 and
every year until she is either voted out of office or
gains an ounce of understanding of human nature.

Here is a quote from her website,
http://www.patriciatodd.net/

"Patricia is putting the finishing touches on several
bills she is planning on introducing into the
Legislature during this session. One of the bills she
will personally be sponsoring, "The George Ormand
Bill," will require that all automatic and
semi-automatic weapons are registered with the
Department of Public Safety. This bill was named
after the 22 month old child that was murdered by a
stray bullet from a semi-automatic weapon in the Druid
Hills neighborhood last year."

The bare naked truth of the matter is your gun didn't
kill George, in fact it has probably been sitting in
the closet since hunting season, but she still wants
you to register it, what lawyers call "prior
restraint", similar to fingerprinting everyone in case
they might someday commit a crime.

Besides being violations of the right to privacy these
schemes are extraordinarilly expensive. Canada imposed
gun registration a few years ago and it has cost them,
according to a 2006 Canadian Broadcasting Company
report, an estimated one billion dollars. Prorating
the cost to Alabama's population (4.6 million versus
33 million) gives a cost of over 130 million Canadian
dollars, or about 115 million US dollars. That is
money down the drain because criminals don't abide by
laws in the first place.

This may be a good time to contact your State
Representative to tell them you don't want to pay for
a $115,000,000 gun control scheme to make the liberal
Birmingham crowd happy while it rusts away our right
to privacy. That money would pay for a lot of gun
safety education as well as neighborhood watches,
police on the streets and alcohol/drug education to
REALLY reduce crime.

Here is a quick reference web address to find the name
of your State Representative:
http://www.legislature.state.al.us/house/house_zipsearch.html

Thank you,
name deleted

 

[McCall911]

Whew! Thanks for the heads up!

We've got to dump that POS bill pronto!

 

[khadre]

Actually, we need to DUMP moronic-lesbie-bleeding-hearts politician like Patricia Todd.

Trying to enhance her poly-tick-shun career by trying to introduce that bill.

 

[moweaver]

What do we do?

Hey everyone - new member from Alabama - I have looked up my district Representatives and gotten email/phone numbers. I don't however know the best way to word my objection to this bill. Any help would be appreciated!!

 

[tydephan]

Mo,

Welcome to THR! And a fellow 'Bamian too! I like to see neighbors joining the board!

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=271172

This bill has been discussed in the thread above.

The popular consensus is that it is dead. There were even reports that Ms. Todd requested that her bill die in subcomittee.

I haven't heard any recent updates, but I'm pretty sure this is not a significant threat anymore.

 

[moweaver]

All right.

Well that works too - guess I won't be beating anybody up today.
Appreciate the quick reply - enjoy what I am seeing here so far.
Got here from packing.org.

Thanks!!

 

[obxned]

Sounds like this bill should have been named after either Bozo The Clown or Adolf Hitler (or a combination of the two: Patricia Todd).

 

[tydephan]

Well that works too - guess I won't be beating anybody up today.
Appreciate the quick reply - enjoy what I am seeing here so far.
Got here from packing.org.

No problemo!

Enjoy your stay at THR. There is more information here than you can process. Just be careful, it is addictive!

 

[Walkalong]

Folks around here say it won't go anywhere. We will see, but we should be OK as long as we keep fighting it. It is relatively gun friendly around her. Our Mayor said publicly that we should arm ourselves and fight back against the criminals here. He caught some flak for that of course.

 

[elrod]

Great job!!! I have emailed Rep. Barry Mask (my rep) with my opposition. We sure don't need Earl (the pearl) Hilliard or Ms Todd messing with our guns!! Truth be known, they probably want the $50 per gun as much as the info!

 

[RonSC]

Just an observation:

"Section 3. For purposes of this act the term "automatic or semi-automatic weapon" shall mean a weapon that shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, a succession of bullets so long as the trigger is depressed or until the ammunition supply is exhausted (or a weapon that fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, without the need to manually operate a bolt, lever, or other firing or loading mechanism.) The term does not include any firearm modified to render the weapon permanently inoperable."

By it's very definition (lines 7-10), a REVOLVER would be considered a "semi-automatic" weapon. Funny how wording can be so all-inclusive which I'm sure was NO accident. Yet another glaring example of how shrewd lawyers and covert semantics can affect the meaning of a bill ie: "Saturday Night Special" or "Assault Weapon"...:banghead: Damn I despise these weasles...

Ron