The National Rifle Association (NRA) has awarded State Rep. Shane Stringer (R-Citronelle) with its “Defender of Freedom” award for his successful passage of constitutional carry during the 2022 regular legislative session.
The NRA presents the award to “individuals who have distinguished themselves in preserving and protecting our Second Amendment rights.”
Stringer’s bill allowing law-abiding Alabamians to carry a firearm in certain public settings without first having to obtain a pistol permit was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey in early March.
Last year, Stringer was dismissed from his position as captain in the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office due to his support of the Second Amendment rights legislation.
In a release announcing the award, Stringer declared that citizens should not have to purchase a pistol permit, which he dubbed to be a “gun tax,” to legally carry a firearm.
“I am humbled by this award from the NRA and share it with all of my House and Senate colleagues across the state who supported and voted for my legislation,” stated Stringer. “Alabamians should not have to pay a gun tax in the form of permit fees in order to exercise the gun rights already guaranteed to them under the Second Amendment, and I am proud beyond measure that Alabama will soon become the twenty-second state in the nation to recognize that fact.”
He added, “As a 30-year veteran of law enforcement, protecting the men and women who wear a badge and patrol our streets is a top priority, so it is important to note that Alabama’s constitutional carry law includes new tools, technologies, and provisions to help keep officers at all levels safe from harm.”
Supporting Stringer’s measure was a bill ushered through the legislature in 2021 by State Rep. Proncey Robertson (R-Decatur) which requires the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) to create a database of individuals who are legally prohibited from owning or carrying firearms.
According to ALEA secretary Hal Taylor, the database will be in operation prior to the October 1, 2022, deadline outlined in the legislation.
During debate on Stringer’s permitless carry bill, various law enforcement agencies contended that the measure would adversely impact revenue from pistol permits. However, the bill’s supporters maintained that law enforcement revenue in other constitutional carry states have remained stable due to the need for individuals to purchase pistol permits in order to carry firearms in reciprocal states.
Included in Alabama’s constitutional carry law is the establishment of a grant program that enables sheriffs who are properly conducting background checks on permit applications to recoup any license fee losses.
Prior state-protected property rights remain in place as land and business owners still have the legal ability to decide whether firearms may be carried on-premise.
Schools, athletic events and secured spaces, such as courthouses and government buildings, are settings in which carrying a firearm remains prohibited.
The constitutional carry law goes into effect on January 1, 2023.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
