Alabama on New Year’s Day became the 25th state to remove a requirement for gun owners to purchase a permit to carry a handgun.

But law enforcement officials say the new law is sparking questions that include, among other things, whether guns are restricted from churches and government buildings. And another question: Do gun owners need to purchase an Alabama permit if they travel with their firearm to a nearby state?

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Those questions and more will be addressed during a 1-1/2-hour community meeting at the Fairhope Civic Center on Thursday. The meeting, which will include a 45-minute presentation followed by a question-and-answer session, is the first of what Fairhope city officials envision as a series of meetings that focuses on a topic “that is pertinent” and timely.

“With this being the first month of the new gun law, we thought we’d provide the information and answer the questions so everyone knows what they can or can’t do,” said Sheri Swartz, spokeswoman for the City of Fairhope. “We felt it was a good opportunity to sit down and go over what it applies to.”

The meeting will be led by three agencies: the Fairhope Police Department, Baldwin County District Attorney’s Office and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office.

It will begin at 6 p.m. and last until 7:30 p.m. The meeting is free for the public to attend, and gun safety information and resources will be available.

Confusion

Sheriff Huey “Hoss” Mack said there is confusion over where guns remain prohibited despite the new permitless carry’s approval.

“I think the biggest area of confusion we have seen is that even though Alabama now has become a permitless state is that there are still areas in which an individual cannot carry a firearm,” Mack said. “Some examples are government buildings, law enforcement buildings, federal properties, schools, and private businesses which follow a notification procedure.”

The permitless carry law became effective after Alabama state lawmakers approved legislation ahead of last year’s primary elections that had long been embraced by gun rights groups like the National Association of Gun Rights.

Proponents called the legislation “Constitutional” carry, reflecting a view that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not place restrictions on the right to carry guns.

But opponents, including a bipartisan coalition of county sheriffs, argued they are concerned over the public safety ramifications of eliminating gun permits. Without the permits, they say there is no longer a key screening tool for people who possess guns. Without that tool, sheriffs argue, the job of law enforcement officers becomes less safe.

The gun permits, before the permitless carry law went into effect, allowed gun owners to carry a pistol in their vehicles, jackets or otherwise hidden from view. Alabama has long been a state where gun owners can openly carry a gun in plain view. The state routinely ranks among the Top 10 in the U.S. for gun ownership.

A permit typically costs a gun owner $20 a year.

Lost revenue

Sheriffs have also argued that the loss of permit fee revenues also creates a public safety concern. The revenue has been used to purchase equipment utilized by law enforcement, capital improvements at jails, food purchases and training.

Supporters of the legislation say it provides financial support for the sheriff’s, pointing to a new fund to support the lost revenues. The fund was propped up with $5 million appropriated through the fiscal year 2023 General Fund, which began on October 1. The fund is to have at least $2 million to support the sheriffs who lose revenues from the lack of permit applications.

Sheriffs say that much more money is needed to make up for the shortfalls. They will be turning to the Legislature in the spring session to craft legislation that will help make up for the shortfall.

Sonny Brasfield, executive director with the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, said the biggest issue this session will be determining the base year for the revenue loss in each county.

“We believe the revenue collected in 2021 should be the basis for determining the impact of removing the requirement for pistol permits I Alabama,” Brasfield said. “The current law uses 2022 as the base year, even though the purchasing of pistol permits dropped significantly the day the law was signed in the spring of 2022.”

Indeed, some counties are experiencing plummeting revenues since the second half of 2022. In Mobile County, Sheriff Paul Burch said his agency received close to $800,000 in permit fee revenues last year, a considerable drop off from the $1.2 million or more they got in previous years.

Financial issues aside, Burch said it’s a “little too soon” to judge the public safety impacts from permitless carry.

“I’m sure we’ll have data to look at in the first quarter to see what the impact it has had other than financially,” he said.