PHENIX CITY, Ala. — A group of Alabama sheriffs said Tuesday that current state gun laws limit their discretion in granting concealed carry permits and proposed legislation could further complicate their ability to confiscate weapons from potentially dangerous people.
Louisiana movie theater shooter John Russell Houser was denied a concealed weapons permit in Russell County in 2006. However, Sheriff Heath Taylor said Houser likely would have been given one under legislation passed in 2013 that says sheriffs “shall issue” concealed carry permits instead of sheriffs “may issue” them in cases involving applicants without felony convictions or other outstanding circumstances.
Taylor told a press conference in Phenix City that current law allows sheriffs to deny applications if they can provide reasons to support the denial in the interest of public safety. But he noted that law enforcement decisions may be overruled if the officials can’t provide strong enough documentation or details despite personal knowledge of an applicant’s past behavior.
Republican State Rep. Ed Henry of Decatur said law enforcement officials must simply provide reasons in writing for denying concealed carry permits.
“There’s nothing in the law that says the sheriff has to issue a permit at 18, there’s nothing in the law that removes their discretion, period,” Henry said. “What they can’t do – and what they loved to do before – is deny a pistol permit and not give a reason.”