A county sheriff in Alabama is pushing for legislation to amend the state’s constitutional, or “permitless,” carry law as it applies to young adults under the age of 21.
According to a report at al.com, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch is gathering information to try to get legislation introduced requiring a permit for 18- to 20-year-olds. The state passed constitutional carry legislation in 2022, making it the 25th state where lawful adults can practice their Second Amendment rights with no government red tape or fees.
According to the news site, Burch apparently thinks an uptick in armed violence among youth in his county is at least partially attributable to the constitutional carry law. And he even admits that criminals manage to get gun despite existing laws.
“I agree with the argument that the people committing these crimes will get a gun regardless of what the law said,” Burch said. “But right now, we don’t have the ability to take it from them.”
It’s kind of hard to understand Burch’s point, since an 18- to 20-year-old who has a gun but is not a criminal or committing a crime should not have his or her firearm taken away in the first place. That’s what the Second Amendment guarantees—the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
Still, Burch is hopeful his idea will gain some traction in the Republican-majority legislature next session.
“Common sense comes along with this,” he told al.com. “But when you got a group of people riding around at 2 in the morning with multiple guns in the car, there is no good intention there.”
Never mind the fact that most hunters have at one time ridden around at 2 in the morning with multiple guns in their vehicle and had no nefarious intent. Additionally, Burch’s proposal simply doesn’t make sense because Americans, including Alabama citizens, are free to ride around at 2 in the morning with multiple guns in their vehicle if they aren’t committing a criminal act.
Obviously, if they are committing crimes with those guns, they should be arrested and prosecuted. But if they aren’t, it’s none of Burch’s or anybody else’s business where they are or what they’re doing.
Burch seems to want to be able to make some kind of preemptive strike so that if he finds an 18-, 19- or 20-year-old with a firearm he can take that gun from them. But multiple courts have ruled that those young adults have the same constitutional rights as those who are 21 and older, whether Burch likes that fact or not.
In the end, most Alabamans will be surprised if anything comes of Burch’s suggestion. Plus, the new executive director of the Alabama Sheriffs Association, Huey “Hoss” Mack, recently told al.com that sheriffs have accepted the law.
Read the full article here
