+1.  I just wish that the Alabama Sheriff's Association would be honest and say they are only worried about a loss of revenue.

I am about as pro gun as it gets, however my concern as a LEO is anyone I encounter with a pistol in a vehicle will need to have a check run to make sure they are not prohibited.

No I don't stop everyone that open carries. If I do encounter someone for some other related matter: ie legitimate vehicle stop, and observe a pistol laying in the front seat, floorboard etc I will most likely investigate whether they are prohibited or not. Would you not do the same? If they CANNOT produce a permit then do I assume everything is cool anyway? Let's say under this scenario (1) Middle age clean cut male "appears" law abiding to you, probably don't check. (2) Young male driving a jacked up spinner wheeled car with gold teeth and chains, you probably check. Just saying, there is a lot of ground in between those two spectrums.

Perhaps put a small logo or letter code on the driver's license issued to prohibited possessors?  But frankly, in my view go ahead and investigate.  If you end up finding a lot of guns with prohibited possessors and get those guys and their weapons off the street, then good.  If you find over and over again it's just a regular citizen with their pistol openly on their belt and get bored of checking, I'm fine with that too.

Ultimately it is unlikely to create any new crime problems as evidenced by the numerous other states where this is a non-issue.

Two potential complications I see that demand thoughtful preparation if legalization goes through:
1) Suppose there is a pistol laying uncontrolled in a vehicle with multiple occupants.  Suppose one of those occupants is a prohibited possessor.  Deciding which one of them "owns" the gun and whether or not the PP gets charged would be a question to deal with.  I would think guidelines that will stand up in court need to be set up ahead of time and promulgated to officers to help ensure a consistent and logical response.  

2) When is an openly carried pistol concealed... E.g. if someone has a pistol openly carried on their right side but the officer can not see it, is it "concealed"?  What if the driver (let's say he has a permit) had set it down on the console between the seats and the wife (with no permit) had set her purse on it without thinking.  Is she going to get cited for concealed carry of a pistol?  I bring this latter one out in particular because an actual issue like that occurred in Arizona (which ironically enough ended up being part of the justification for constitutional concealed carry).

Just some things to think about.

I'm all for restoring the fundamental and civil right to keep and bear arms for self defense in vehicles for non-prohibited possessors.  Legalizing it via legislature now will save the trouble and expense of a court case where the new language in section 26 regarding "strict scrutiny" puts the ASA's public safety argument to bed and finds the ban unconstitutional.  Without legalization now that case WILL come.  Best to save the trouble and legalize it I say.

You should know when you stop them if you use your name, or the move equivalent.  





 

"I support the 2nd Amendment, BUT......"



I can smell your bullshit a mile away.
 

Read aloud what you wrote originally.  Here, I'll even quote it for you:



"....anyone I encounter with a pistol in a vehicle will need to have a check run to make sure they are not prohibited."



If that's not anti-2nd amendment, I don't know what is.  Guilty until proven innocent.  The very antithesis of the US Constitution.



I still smell your bullshit.  If anything it's gotten worse.

I think you are missing the point. I am all for law abiding citizens carrying a firearm anywhere. LE does have an obligation to stop criminals from possessing weapons. Not sure if you are in LE or not but let me give you a scenario: For whatever reason I have a legitimate encounter with someone and they have a weapon laying in the floorboard and for arguments sake just assume they are allowed to possess it without running a check. Now 5 mins later they do down the road and shoot someone and it turns they are an ex-felon. Family finds I had just encountered them and took no action to verify they lawfully possessed that weapon. I hope you are sitting on my lawsuit jury.

What about the felon sitting there with an illegally concealed weapon you don't notice that goes down the road who shoots someone?  And which is more likely?  For a felon to leave a weapon out in view for an officer, or to have it concealed?

I say check everyone you want but I'll lay odds you'll find that you're mostly just flagging on people who aren't a threat.  Open to seeing statistics though.

I agree judgment of circumstances should be your guide.

Obviously I haven't seen the bill, but I would be surprised if what you described above is in the bill.
My guess is the bill would be similar to GA, which allows you to carry a weapon in your vehicle but it must be secure. Ex: In console, glove box, etc. Sliding around on the seat/floor isn't legal.
Again, just a guess - we'll see if it goes anywhere.

Carry in your car without a permit has been legal in Mississippi for years.


Funny, it doesn't seem to be a bloodbath there, nor are the morgues filled with victims shot immediately after LEO encounters by thugs when their illegal guns were ignored.








 

and for many decades in Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida....objections to this change are purely self interested BS, no matter where they come from

This comes to my fundamental question on the issue.  If our sheriff offices are under funded, how big a check do "We the people" need to write them every year to persuade them to uphold our fundamental right to carry arms instead of lobbying against it.

Given the state's history on civil rights,  how interested are sheriffs in owning that legacy with the continued willingness to of some suspend fundamental rights for revenue.  I could envision an unhappy campaign being developed around that theme.

The alternative is to get the issue into the court to try out the new "strict scrutiny" clause, but who wants to go first

That's Mississippi, this is Alabama where there is a Republican supermajority in both houses and a Republican Governor and we can't get permitless carry passed. This state is a special kind of stupid sometimes.

A lot of folks will still get it for interstate travel.  In AZ, the CCW also allowed you to skip som background checks and enter some areas where constitutional concealed carry was limited.

I'm guessing if sheriffs are confident the permits aren't going to dry up they might relax