Latest news with #HB103
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama legislators elevate guns over children. Again.
Pistols are displayed in a New Jersey gun shop on Feb. 11, 2023. An Alabama House committee last week rejected a bill that would have required parents to secure firearms in households with children present. (Aristide Economopoulos for New Jersey Monitor) The leading cause of preventable death for Alabama children is guns. Let me say that again in active voice. Guns kill Alabama kids more than anything else we can prevent. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX And we refuse to act. Our lawmakers treat these dangerous weapons as props and charms. They pose with them in campaign ads, where they cosplay as hunters and militia members. It's all part of the deadly fantasy that justice comes from a gun and not the law or the courts. It leads to the fatal delusion that every American — no matter their inexperience or lack of training — can be trusted with a firearm. That's led to Alabama lawmakers hauling down basic gun safety laws, making a state with an unacceptably high rate of firearm deaths even more dangerous. We can start addressing the problem by keeping devices created to kill out of irresponsible hands. But we don't. And each year, thousands of Alabamians pay the price for this foolishness. Sometimes I let myself hope legislators are waking up to this reality. But then they manage to find a way back into their fantasies. On Wednesday, the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee rejected a bill from Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, that would have taken a small step toward addressing gun deaths in our state. HB 103 would have subjected the parents or guardians of children who bring unauthorized firearms to a public school to a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,000 fine. It was, in effect, a safe storage bill. Under the legislation, a gun owner with children would have to keep their firearm secured, either with a trigger lock or in some sort of secure container. That's something the American Association of Pediatrics supports, not only because it will prevent accidental deaths, but also because it will substantially cut the risk of suicide attempts with firearms. Guns account for about 70% of all suicide deaths in Alabama. You can plausibly ask how the law would be enforced. My own sense is that having this penalty in place will encourage parents to invest in devices keeping their guns away from their children. But that wasn't the stated reason Republicans rejected Drummond's bill. Rep. Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg, a member of the committee, said she was concerned that the measure 'applies a criminal offense based on another person's actions.' This is a reasonable objection. But then I remember the Alabama Senate was considering a bill earlier this month that would have imposed criminal penalties on those providing aid or transportation to a person without legal status. Fine to punish aid to the stranger. But sanctions for letting a child get a hold of a firearm? That's an assault on freedom. Perhaps Republicans didn't want to advance a bill brought by a Democrat. Or maybe appeasing the gun lobby matters matters more than fixing this deadly status quo. If they have legitimate concerns about the penalties in Drummond's bill, then they should bring their own. Make it impossible to buy a firearm without buying some device to secure it. Put the onus on the gun owner. There are some GOP proposals that could inch toward safety. The House last week passed HB 216, sponsored by Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster. The bill would allow gun dealers to participate in a program allowing the voluntary surrender of firearms without fear of lawsuits. The Senate on Thursday approved a similar measure from Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston. Neither bill is a red flag law, where a court can order the seizure of firearms from a person who appears to be a threat to themselves or other people. Both count on a person who owns a firearm recognizing that he or she might do harm and acting before that happens. Now, I admire a person who can tell that they can't be trusted with a gun. Unfortunately, such foresight is rare. And if you're trying to intervene on behalf of a spouse, a child or a parent, you're out of luck. So it doesn't seem like the legislation be effective. The bills won't be useless. Even a voluntary program will save someone's life. But it's hardly what's needed in a state with a higher firearm death total than New York State. Which is four times bigger than Alabama. It's very hard to take the Legislature's push for 'public safety' seriously when they treat the single-worst threat to law and order — the firearm — as some kind of fixed and blameless object. Taking the firearm off that pedestal would go a long way toward saving lives in this state. But we can't have that. To legislators, the gun is higher and holier than anything else in Alabama. And its sanctity must be preserved. Even if children needlessly die. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama House committee rejects bill making parents liable when children bring guns to school
Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, speaks during a debate in the Alabama House of Representatives on Feb. 12, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. A House committee rejected a bill sponsored by Drummond that would have imposed criminal penalties on parents of children who bring unauthorized firearms to school. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) Lawmakers Wednesday halted a bill that could have made parents and guardians who don't secure their firearms criminally liable if their children bring those guns to school. The House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee rejected HB 103, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, that would have subjected parents to a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,000 fine if their child brings an unauthorized firearm to school. 'I want you to know that this is not anti-gun bill or a gun control bill,' she said to members of the committee. 'This is a pro-parenting and pro-schools bill to help us prevent children from bringing their parents' guns to school campuses.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Drummond introduced the legislation after she noticed an increasing number of incidents in which children brought firearms to school. The bill would require parents to attach a trigger lock device to a gun or storing the firearm in a lock box that requires a key or some kind of combination to unlock. This is the third consecutive year that Drummond introduced legislation that held parents responsible should their children gain access to their firearm and subsequently bring the weapon to school with them. The 2023 version of her legislation made it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000, for someone to have a firearm after they were convicted of a violence offense or had a protection order because of domestic abuse. That version also had a section that made it a Class A misdemeanor for minors, or those with a drug or alcohol addiction, to have a firearm. Parents could also be convicted of a Class C felony if they fail to safely secure their firearms, and their children bring the weapon to school. In 2024, Drummond downgraded the punishment to a Class A misdemeanor if parents fail to secure their firearms and their children bring it to school. It also left in place the other elements pertaining to people who had been convicted of a violent offense, along with punishing minors and people with an addiction to alcohol and drugs. In the most recent version, Drummond stripped the bill down to criminal liability for parents who fail to secure their firearms. The bill was approved by the House Judiciary Committee last year. Democrats on the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee unanimously voted in favor of the legislation, but Drummond failed to get enough support from Republicans. 'My basic opposition to this particular bill is that it applies a criminal offense based on another person's actions,' said Rep. Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg. 'No matter what you do, if the child does take a gun to school, that person's action is then going to trigger a criminal penalty on someone else.' Drummond then warned her colleagues of the potential consequences after members voted against her proposal. 'I hope none of our children die as a result,' she said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Huntsville lawmaker says he will support bill requiring parents to lock up guns
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — After a gun went off in a second grader's backpack at Challenger Elementary School last week, an Alabama lawmaker is looking for ways to make sure students are safe while they are at school. Rep. James Lomax said he plans to support a bill introduced in the Alabama legislature this month that would put more responsibility for gun safety on parents. Alabama agriculture, forestry rake in billions every year: report 'This was a real scare,' Lomax said. 'This was this was a near-miss, so I think we're lucky that that it wasn't worse. But, I think they're concerned about what we're going to do going forward.' HB 103, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Drummond, would create a criminal penalty for parents whose child is found to have a gun on a public school campus. If a student brings a gun to school from home, parents would have to prove the weapon was 'reasonably secured' in something like a lockbox or gun safe. Otherwise, they could face a Class A misdemeanor. Lomax said concerned parents brought the bill to his attention. 'On reviewing it, I said, look, this is a parent responsibility bill,' Lomax said. 'This is a school safety bill. This is something that I absolutely need to put my name on, even if I have got to go across party aisles.' Lomax also helped secure a $10,000 grant for other security measures. 'My understanding was that they have a really good plan, but some of it hadn't been implemented yet,' Lomax said. After the incident, Huntsville City Schools increased the number of security personnel and put in place an Evolv weapon detection system that students have to walk through when they get to school. Lomax said he hopes the grant money can speed Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A new bill could punish parents if their child brings gun to school
ALABAMA (WHNT) — House Bill 103, introduced Tuesday, states that a parent or legal guardian could be charged with a Class A Misdemeanor if their child unlawfully possesses a firearm on public school property. Lawmakers agree that gun safety efforts need to be a priority, but the two parties disagree on how it should be enforced. Decatur Police searching for two missing children, possibly in danger House Minority Leader Representative Anthony Daniels said the bill could be useful in reminding parents of the importance of securely storing a gun at home. 'We've got to do a better job of protecting our weapons,' Daniels said. 'Making certain that our children don't have easy access to it, so it could serve as a wake-up call to parents.' Daniels emphasized the urgency of more gun safety after several tragedies across the country. 'A lot of times these kids have gotten these weapons from their parents,' Daniels said. 'You end up losing so many precious lives as a result of it.' Man turns himself in for exposing himself in Toney, sheriff's office says Alabama GOP Chairman John Wahl sits on the other side of the aisle regarding this bill. He said you cannot blame a second party for an individual's actions. 'We need to teach our children how important it is that they are respectful for any tool or firearm or vehicle or for anything that could be dangerous to another person,' Wahl said. 'You can't hold one person guilty for another person's actions.' Wahl added that he believes lawmakers should focus more on prevention rather than punishment. 'It does not actually accomplish the root goal which is bringing down crime and bringing down these tragedies,' Wahl said. 'It only addresses them after they happen.' The bill does make exceptions, one being for firearms left in students' vehicles. Daniels said that each instance of a child with a parent's gun should be handled on a case-by-case basis and that it's possible the parent did everything right. Wahl said the bill, as it stands, leaves too much uncertainty in the burden of proof and could lead to a 'slippery slope' in the law. BamaCarry, Inc., a statewide gun rights organization, sent News 19 a statement on their opinion of the bill. 'HB103 is another example of government over reach. In essence it saysyou will educate your child and store your possessions in the manner wedictate or you will be punished. Each instance is different. No blanketbill will cover all situations. A six year old manages to bring a B-B gun to school for show and tellthat was a Christmas gift versus a 16 year old that brings a firearm toschool with malicious intent, or as in the past, students in rural areascarried various firearms to go hunting after their school day had situations are quite different and would require differentactions by authorities. This bill does not allow for that. Our time would be better spent by parents educating their children onproper handling of firearms instead of trying to pass alarmistlegislation as in bill HB103. For the reasons states, BamaCarry opposes this bill.' Linda McKinney, BamaCarry, Inc. President The bill is currently with the House Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. If passed, it will go into effect Oct. 1, 2025. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
