By: Joseph M. Morgan

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Last week the Alabama Senate passed legislation sponsored by DeKalb Sen. Phil Williams that will help protect the rights of gun owners in DeKalb and throughout the state. 

Williams’ legislation, S.B. 135, will prevent local governments from implementing “gun user fees” and other regulatory hurdles designed to make it more difficult for citizens to purchase guns and ammunition at fair market value.

“My legislation is designed to protect Alabama’s citizens from rogue action at the county and municipal levels by preventing liberal, anti-gun agendas and the imposition of local fees and obstacles,” Williams said. “My goal is to stop in its tracks any coordinated national agenda to undermine our Second Amendment rights at the county or municipal level.”

In a recent national trend, city councils across the country have begun passing onerous local fees and taxes on gun purchases in a transparent attempt to limit gun purchases and target the wallets of gun owners for increased tax revenues.

A prime example of this type of targeting of gun owners occurred in December of last year in Seattle, Wa. when the city council passed and began imposing a local tax of $25 per gun and 5 cents per round of ammunition.

Senate Bill 135 also prohibits counties and municipalities from imposing additional restrictions on the issuance of gun permits other than those enumerated in Alabama’s current legal code. The city of Lowell, Massachusetts recently passed a law that requires applicants for handgun licenses to complete an essay detailing why they should receive approval for the license.

The legislation will now be taken up in the Alabama House of Representatives for consideration. Williams represents District 10 in the Alabama State Senate, which is comprised of all or parts of DeKalb, Etowah, Cherokee, and St. Clair counties.