Alabama Senate approves bill nullifying presidential gun orders in state
The Alabama Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would forbid law enforcement from carrying out executive orders by the Biden administration aimed at reducing gun violence.
The legislation — which in its original form would have attempted to nullify all federal gun laws in Alabama — passed 24 to 5 amid criticism from Democrats who said it had no conception of the supremacy clause in the U.S. Constitution, making federal laws superior to state laws.
"You all know what the Supremacy Clause says, you learned it in law school," said Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham. "You and I know there is nothing we can say or do in this state that's going to supersede whatever the federal government does."
Alabama had the fifth-highest rate of gun deaths per capita in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state had more overall deaths from firearms than the state of New York, which has four times the population of Alabama.
The bill, SB 2, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, pre-emptively declares any "Biden administration gun control order ... a grave threat to the Second Amendment rights of Alabamians." It forbids a "state actor" from "knowingly and willingly" enforcing an order from the Biden administration related to firearms.
"It's very important for each of us to be reminded that the state of Alabama and the people support the Constitution of the United States of America," Allen said.
The legislation would ban the use of public resources to enforce orders from the Biden administration unless not doing so would jeopardize federal funding.
Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, characterized it as "we don't want you tell us to do, but if some money comes with what you want us to do, we're alright with it.
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Biden's gun orders to this point have mostly focused on funding violence prevention efforts and studies. But the orders have also required registration of stabilizing braces used on pistols, which can make them more accurate. A brace was used by a gunman who killed 10 people in a Boulder, Colo. supermarket in March 2021. One of Biden's orders also required the use of serial numbers and background checks for "ghost guns," firearms constructed with 3-D printers or kits, which make them difficult to trace.
In its first incarnation, Allen's bill went much further. It would have declared all federal gun laws, including those putting limits on ownership of automatic firearms and silencers, "unconstitutional." It also would have subjected state law enforcement officers who enforced federal gun laws to jail time and fines of up to $5,000 for a first offense and $7,000 for a second offense.
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Gov. Kay Ivey on March 10 signed a bill ending most requirements to have a permit to carry a concealed weapon in the state.
The bill moves to the House of Representatives. Thursday was the last day in the 2022 Regular Session where senators can pass bills and send them to the House without the unanimous consent of members.
In the Montgomery County delegation, Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, voted for the bill. Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery, voted against it.
In the Autauga and Elmore County delegation, Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, voted for the bill.
In the Tuscaloosa County delegation, Allen and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper, voted for the bill. Singleton was not listed as voting.
In the Etowah County delegation, Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, voted for the bill.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama Senate approves bill nullifying presidential gun orders
