Gun in car while traveling in Alabama

[Shade00]

I'm traveling to Alabama today to be in my buddy's wedding, and I did a little reading on gun laws. I was a bit surprised to see that Alabama is a bit whacky in that although you can open carry without a permit, you cannot car carry without a permit. I was kinda surprised, as I expected good ol' Alabammy to be more lax. Anyway, is it ok to have the gun locked in its case behind the seat with ammo elsewhere? I assume so from what I have read, but I just wanted to double check. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[Oro]

Shade, you are correct. Here is the exact statute:

Title 18 > Part I > Chapter 44 > § 926a
§ 926A. Interstate transportation of firearms
Release date: 20050803
Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or regulation of a State or any
political subdivision thereof, any person who is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from
transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any
lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any
other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during such transportation
the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily
accessible or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting vehicle:
Provided, That in the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s
compartment the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the
glove compartment or console.

 

[kurtmax]

If your vehicle has a trunk or a box in the truck bed it needs to go in there.

 

[elvis christ]

I believe the mindset in Alabama is that once to take your gun in your car, it becomes a concealed weapon, therefore requiring a permit.

 

[jbird714]

Kind of stinks, open carry O.K. but not in the car without the pistol license. Alabama does, however, honor the licenses from Mississippi and Louisiana, among many others. Twenty-three states, IIRC.
Enjoy the wedding and your time in AL.

Jay

 

[MIL-DOT]

Are they saying you can't even have it out in the open, say,in a soft case sitting on the back seat ?

 

[Solo Flyer]

Are they saying you can't even have it out in the open, say,in a soft case sitting on the back seat ?

That is correct.
Without a CCW recognized by Alabama(The Heart of Dixie,by the way)handguns must be unloaded and cased in the trunk or storage area.
Loaded long guns may be carried in plain view or gun cases.

http://www.handgunlaw.us

 

[XR400R]

I'm not understanding why you think open carry is legal in AL? My CCW permit specifically states it does not permit me to carry openly. The law says this:

§ 13A-11-73. License to carry pistol in
vehicle or concealed on person --
Required.

"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."

It also says:
§ 13A-11-74. License to carry pistol in
vehicle or concealed on person --
Exceptions.

"The provisions of Section 13A-11-73 shall not apply
to. . . or to any
person permitted by law to possess a pistol while
carrying it unloaded in a secure wrapper, from the
place of purchase to his home or place of business,
or to or from a place of repair or in moving from
one place of abode or business to another."

Technically, these are the only times anyone, even an Alabama resident, may have a weapon in his car, unless he has a CCW permit.

This is what my Sheriffs dept. advises me anyhow.

The good news is AL has CCW permit reciprocity with Alaska, New Hampshire, Colorado, North Carolina,Florida, North Dakota, Georgia, Oklahoma, Idaho, Tennessee, Indiana, Utah, Kentucky, Wyoming, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas

So if you have a valid CCW, you're good.

 

[daddyo]

There is no law prohibiting open carry in Alabama. Your permit says "This permit does not permit you to carry openly" because no permit is required to carry openly in public. Unfortunately, many LEO's in Alabama are not well informed on firearm laws. A weapon is however considered concealed if it is in a vehicle other than as specified, and therefor a permit would be required to open carry in a vehicle.

Here's a link to a discussion with more info
http://forum.alabamagunrights.org/viewtopic.php?id=334

 

[chris in va]

You *do* have your non-res Florida permit. Right?

 

[unspellable]

transport

How does this affect transport from home to the hunting field or a target range?

 

[Solo Flyer]

How does this affect transport from home to the hunting field or a target range?

The same rules would apply.Without a permit unloaded handguns in the trunk or storage area,loaded long guns in plain view or in gun cases.

 

[unspellable]

transport

transport in a case or in the trunk is similar to most states. Barring ones so unfriendly I wouldn't be there in the firdt place.) The other day I was i nAlabama and some one told me you could not transport a handgun in the trunk but you could transport one in plain view in the vehicle. (No permit since we are talking transport here.) This didn't sound logical to me, but then, since when were gun laws logical?

We may be considering a move to Alabama so I want to get all this stuff straight before deciding to make the move.

 

[Solo Flyer]

The other day I was i nAlabama and some one told me you could not transport a handgun in the trunk but you could transport one in plain view in the vehicle. (No permit since we are talking transport here.) This didn't sound logical to me, but then, since when were gun laws logical?

That someone had the law completely backwards.
Check it out yourself at:

http://www.handgunlaw.us
http://www.handgunlaw.us/documents/USRVCarCarry.pdf

And although Alabama is technically may issue,in almost all cases of an application by a person with no felony or mental issues,it's tantamount to being a shall issue state.
That Sheriff is going to issue the permit.

 

[unspellable]

permit

I picked up a handout concerning the permit and it mentions firearms related misdemeanors. What do they mean by that?

 

[chris in va]

Firearms related misdemeanors? Basically if you transgress against the law a certain way, it'll be a misdemeanor charge against you. If you're caught.

 

[unspellable]

Madison County Sheriff Department handout:

4. Question: Who may not obtain a pistol license?

Answer:

(9) No person who has been convicted of an offense involving firears; even though the offense is a misdemeanor according to the the Gun Control Act of 1968 as amended regarding definition of "felony."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now I am wondering what is meant by a "msidemeanor" here. This makes it sound like the rule is tighter than the federal rule regarding possesion where they count a misdemeanor punishable by two years or more as a felony.

I may be gun shy, but I've had some bad experiences with local law enforcement bending the rules, making up their own rules, or just ignoring the rules. Not to mention the rules themselves can get pretty Alice in Wonderlandish. (Try flying with a handgun some time.)

If I come down there, I'll have enough firearms to make any New Jersey cop haul me off to the lock up as a terrorist.

 

[AlabamaFamilyMan]

Whoa!!

unspellable:

"Madison County Sheriff Department handout:

4. Question: Who may not obtain a pistol license?

Answer:

(9) No person who has been convicted of an offense involving firears;..."


Yep, we'll git ya' if you don't keep that thar fire arse under control...

 

[kurtmax]

I believe the mindset in Alabama is that once to take your gun in your car, it becomes a concealed weapon, therefore requiring a permit.

Wrong. The law specifically prohibits carrying concealed on or about his person or in a vehicle.

In a vehicle isn't concealed, it's just prohibited unless you have a permit.

Long-arms may be carried anywhere, on foot, in vehicles, etc. as long as they are not concealed. Loaded in a gun case might be a bad thing, as they may be considered 'concealed'. If I have my 870 with me I carry it on the seat, and I'm going to get a vertical gun rack soon.

The laws are very specific except for the issue of OC. They start in Code of Alabama 13A-11-50.

OC is a different beast, and many people debate this issue. Bottom line is it is legal to do so. The so-called statue used to 'get' OCers (13A-11-52) is never used in practice since it's only applicable to carrying pistols concealed. The cops have tried of course, but it always gets thrown out in court and almost never even gets that far. Also, if 11-52 were applied and someone was successfully convicted, it would also mean that carrying concealed, even with a permit, would be illegal except on your own property.... but then you wouldn't need a permit anyways. Madness!

You may OC without a permit, but be aware that if you are in a vehicle it must be in a secure container etc etc. So have fun unloading/reloading every time you go from a car and back.

I've OCed a few times in a liberal University town and haven't had any police response. Nobody really seems to notice. Some lady freaked out in line a few weeks ago and quickly left the store but that's as far as it went. I don't OC to make a point though, and I really just do so when it's more convenient than CC.

As for restrictions on your permits issued by the Sheriff in Alabama. The restrictions are allowed to be time and place only. Not manner. Plus, the permit doesn't even cover carrying unconcealed. If your Sheriff revokes your permit for OCing lawyer up quick and have some fun. According to case law the Sheriff doesn't have complete discretion over permits and if he fails to issue or revokes for an invalid reason it's illegal.

 

[bamawrx]

Do not open carry in AL unless you are looking for trouble. Its legal, but no ones does it. I did during the IVAN aftermath with no trouble, but those times demanded some additional protocols. If you do OC, you will get lots of "are you a cop?" questions followed by conversations with real cops. I'm sorry this is the case, but no need to get your name in the paper over something preventable. For some reason, we tend to look upon OC as lowbrow and CC as civilized.

 

[kurtmax]

Really? I see other people OC every once-in-awhile. It's really not a big deal. I should start OCing everywhere instead of CC just to prove everyone wrong I used to exclusively OC with no problems before I received a pistol permit. Also, er, looking upon OC as 'lowbrow' is contrary to a multitude of court cases on the issue. Most of the judges consider CC to be problematic and OC to be 'civilized'.

Meh, tbh it doesn't really matter. I'll be carrying in my shoulder holster this winter so I'll get enough OC time when I'm inside!