Sunday, May 24, 2015

Alabama Senate Says Guns in Cars is the Same as Guns in the Home

Concealed Nation

The Alabama Senate passed a new firearms Bill that would allow any gun owner to carry and transport a loaded handgun in their vehicle without the requirement of a concealed carry permit.  Senator Gerald Allen, a Republican from Cottondale, stated that his Bill strengthens the Second Amendment rights of Alabama residents by mirroring the bordering States; none of which require a concealed carry permit for transportation of a handgun within a vehicle.

The Senator references the Castle Doctrine, which states a person’s vehicle is an extension of their home, and therefore should be allowed to carry a handgun in their car without the need of a permit; given a permit is not required for anyone to keep a handgun in their home.

Gerald Allen goes on to state that a person should not be required to purchase a permit and ask for permission to carry a handgun in a vehicle for the purpose of self-defense.  He mentions the fact that a single mom who works in a dangerous part of town may wish to carry a firearm for self-defense; but should not be expected to spend the extra money for a permit to exercise her constitutional right.

4 comments:

  1. This law actually falls under a common sense tag Mike. Alabama is an open carry state, however if the person carrying uses a car, they have to remove it from the holster, unload, and then store it securely. Then reverse the process when getting out.
    This law merely makes it legal to open carry while in your car. This improves safety by reducing the amount of times the person carrying is loading and unloading the firearm. This will also help calm the sensitivities of the public since they wont be subjected to seeing open carriers loading and unloading their firearms in public.
    So this law actually makes real world improvements in the open carry law. Whether you approve of open carry or not, it should be hard to argue against improving both safety and public perception.

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    1. That's interesting. I didn't think of it as an extension of open carry. Even the explanation in the article described it as an extension of guns in the home. And presumably, when parking the car and leaving it unattended, the gun can stay there, which is obviously making it less secure than in the home, hopefully locked in a safe.

      Your description of it simply points to another problem with open carry.

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    2. "And presumably, when parking the car and leaving it unattended, the gun can stay there, which is obviously making it less secure than in the home, hopefully locked in a safe."

      Mike, I believe that this change would make it less likely for the gun to be left in the car since the gun would remain on the person. Instead of it being left in the trunk, it would be carried into the house just like it was carried everywhere else during the day.

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