Latest news with #RussellBedsole
Associated Press
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Lawmakers approve bill for voluntary weapon storage to prevent suicides
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday gave final approval to legislation aimed at creating a way for people who experience suicidal thoughts to voluntarily store their weapons with licensed gun dealers. The House of Representatives voted 93-1 for the legislation that would provide lawsuit immunity to licensed gun dealers who participate in the suicide prevention program. The bill now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature. Supporters said the bill is needed to get licensed firearm dealers to participate in the program where they agree to hold someone's weapon for a period of time. 'If we can save just one person's life, prevent them from using their own weapon as an act of suicide, then this program is worth it,' Republican Rep. Russell Bedsole said during the debate. The bill is named for two Alabama veterans who died by suicide. ___
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill to expand first responder death benefits to volunteer firefighters passes Alabama House
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 Thursday approved a bill sponsored by Bedsole that extends a cancer death benefit to volunteer firefighters. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) A bill that would extend first responder death benefit to volunteer firefighters passed the Alabama House 102-0 on Thursday. HB 35, sponsored by Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster, would allow survivors of volunteer firefighters who die of work-related cancer to claim a death benefit award. 'They are public servants in our communities, for everything that we need,' Bedsole said on the floor of the House. 'Fighting fires is a small part of it, so this is the least we can do to help them.' Rep. Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville, expressed support for the bill and said volunteer firefighters make a difference in Alabama communities. 'Last week we had a tornado in my district … Volunteer firemen went in and pulled an 89-year-old female out … alive,' he said. Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, said she wants to give volunteer firefighters more stability, but this bill is a good start. 'Not only are they volunteer firemen, but a lot of them have a job somewhere else,' Moore said. According to the Alabama Forestry Commission, there are 983 volunteer fire stations across the state. The bill goes to the Alabama Senate.
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.
