Alabama Eyeing Gun Control Bill Following Shootings

As a native Georgian, I’m required by state law to make fun of Alabama. As a law-abiding sort, I have no choice in the matter, particularly during college football season.

Go Dawgs!

Anywho, while I might joke about the state a lot, I do like a lot about it. I visit it pretty regularly and it’s a lovely state.

However, 2024 was a rough year for Alabama in a lot of ways, and not just because the Crimson Tide had a disappointing season. There were a number of high-profile shootings, and that has lawmakers looking at what they should do about it.

And that, surprisingly enough, involves a gun control bill, but it’s not as terrible as you might think.

After a violent year that saw multiple mass shootings in the state, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and many lawmakers in both parties are supporting a ban on so-called Glock switches and other conversion devices that make semi-automatic weapons fire like machine guns.

The Republican governor is expected to back the proposal in her State of the State address Tuesday as part of a broader package of bills focused on public safety that she has named her top priority for the session. Democrats have long supported banning the conversion devices, but their bills have failed to win final approval in the Republican-dominated Alabama Legislature that has typically been reluctant to support gun restrictions.

“Governor Ivey supports getting dangerous Glock switches out of the hands of gangs and criminals. Along with this measure, she will unveil several other public safety proposals that will support law enforcement and crack down on crime. She expects the package to have bipartisan support,” Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola wrote in an email.

…

The devices were used in a September shooting that killed four people outside a Birmingham lounge, police believe. The rapid hard-to-control spray of bullets means more victims and more innocent bystanders wounded or killed, police say. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin this fall called Glock switches are” the number one public safety issue in our city and state.”

The devices are banned under federal law and in 23 states, according to anti-violence group Everytown for Gun Safety. Supporters said having a state ban will enable local district attorneys to pursue charges and prosecutions instead of referring the the cases to federal prosecutors.

So yeah, this basically bans a device that is illegal already. It doesn’t actually do anything to law-abiding citizens in the state.

At least, assuming the law is written correctly.

You see, there are transferable full-auto switches floating around out there. I didn’t realize there actually were, but sure enough, they exist. I’d hate for anyone in Alabama who has one to have to sell it simply because the law assumes all of them are illegal under federal law.

Then there’s the concern I started having about what happens in these states should the NFA be repealed. Without the right wording, suddenly these devices would be legal everywhere except these states.

Still, in the end, while I don’t like gun control at all, this is one measure that won’t have an appreciable impact on lawful gun owners or gun buyers in 99.999 percent of cases.

However, something folks in the Alabama legislature need to recognize is that while full-auto switches are illegal under federal law and they seem to know this won’t actually stop them from being sold, anyone who backs this bill is just leaning into the idea that the gun is the problem and not the people.

That’s going to make it harder to deal with gun control bills as they come up.