Latest news with #Houston-HunterAct
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama House approves bill allowing participation in firearm surrender program
Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville (left) listens to Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on Feb. 13, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The House Tuesday approved SB 40, sponsored by Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, and carried by Bedsole, which creates a firearm surrender program for people experiencing suicidal thoughts. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday that would allow people experiencing suicidal thoughts to surrender a firearm to a licensed gun dealer. SB 40, sponsored by Rep. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, passed 93-1. Known as the Houston-Hunter Act, it would provide liability protection for federally-licensed firearms dealers who choose to participate in the Safer Together Program, where they may accept surrendered firearms from community members. 'They can place their weapon in there and they can walk away,' Bedsole, who carried the Senate bill in the House, said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX He said any federally licensed firearm dealer or gun store can choose to participate in the program. Bedsole sponsors the House version of the bill, which passed the House 98-2 in February. Alabama has some of the highest rates of firearm death in the nation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1,278 Alabamians died by gunfire in 2022, a rate of 25.5 per 100,000 people, the fourth highest in the nation and a larger total than New York States, which has almost four times the population of Alabama. The CDC said 840 Alabamians died by suicide in 2022. That ranks Alabama 26th for suicides per capita. In the United States, 54% of suicides were done by gunfire. Rep. Travis Hendrix, D-Birmingham, a former policeman, shared a story of a co-worker that almost committed suicide. 'If this program was available two years ago, he probably would've been in a better situation,' Hendrix said. Bedsole said the idea for the bill came from a crisis intervention conference he went to in Indiana. He said he met some people from Alabama that told him about the nonprofit program. 'Here's the heart and passion: If we can save just one person's life and prevent them from using their own weapon as an act of suicide, then this program is worth it,' he said. The bill passed with a House Judiciary Committee substitute that mirrored the language of the House bill in the Senate bill. It goes to the Senate for concurrence or a conference committee. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama House approves bill allowing voluntary firearm surrender
Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster, walks across the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on April 25, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Bedsole sponsors HB 216 that would create a firearm surrender program for individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama House of Representatives Tuesday approved a bill that would allow people experiencing suicidal thoughts surrender a firearm to a licensed gun dealer. HB 216, sponsored by Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster, passed the chamber on a 98-2 vote. Bedsole said the bill is named for Houston Lee Tumlin and Hunter Chase Whitley, two veterans who died by suicide shortly after returning from active duty. Bedsole mentioned the over 6,000 veteran suicides nationwide within a year of returning from deployment. 'In the state of Alabama, 85% of the veterans who took their life did so by gunfire,' Bedsole said. The Houston-Hunter Act provides liability protection for any gun dealer that chooses to participate in the Safer Together Program, where community members can surrender firearms. A substitution from the House Judiciary Committee limits the places where a firearm can be surrendered to the Federal Firearms License dealers. It was adopted 100-0. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 840 Alabamians died by suicide in 2022. That ranks Alabama 26th for suicides per capita. In the United States, 54% of suicides were done by gunfire, according to the CDC. 'And I would dare say that each of us in this chamber have a personal account of knowing someone that has made a similar choice to take their own life,' Bedsole said. The bill goes to the Alabama Senate.
