State Sen. Arthur Orr weighed in on the Montgomery City Council’s recent decision to pass a concealed carry ordinance that directly contradicts state law.
The Council voted 8-1 this week to require a valid photo ID to carry a concealed weapon on one’s person or in a vehicle. Current Alabama law requires no permit as long as the individual in possession of the firearm is at least 18 years of age. Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed is expected to sign the ordinance into law today.
On Friday morning, Orr (R-Decatur) joined The Dale Jackson Show and offered his take, bluntly stating that Montgomery officials are “wasting their time and effort” by attempting to supersede state law.
RELATED: Montgomery City Council clashes with state law by passing concealed carry ordinance
“You know, there are a lot of things we would love to pass with the federal government to pass it at the state level, but we don’t because we know we would be wasting the time and resources of the state fighting in the court system,” Orr explained. “That being said, there are certainly some gray areas that sometimes we need to go to the court system to know, to ascertain as to whether the feds have overstepped their powers and the laws that they passed aren’t constitutional.”
The legislator told Jackson that he is giving the city grace on the issue.
“All that to say, I’ll give Montgomery the benefit of the doubt, but I’m sure it was just a finger in the eye.”
The sponsor of the ordinance, Councilor Glen Pruitt, expects legal challenges from the state.
“Look, we’re going to do it.” he said. “And if something comes up, then we have attorneys and we’ll go figure it out in court and let the court tell us.”
The ordinance has the support of Montgomery’s interim police chief, Jim Graboys, and the Mayor of Montgomery, Steven Reed.
The Montgomery City Council is the latest local entity in the state to push for stricter gun laws. In Mobile County, Sheriff Paul Burch began publicly advocating for Alabamians under the age of 21 to be required to buy a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
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