Citation(s) from the GunPolicy.org literature library
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 2024 ‘Firearm Prohibitions in Alabama.’ Who Can Have a Gun. San Francisco, CA: Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. 4 December
Relevant contents
[Editor's note: The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence regularly updates its webpages with new data as US gun regulation evolves state by state. For the most up-to-date information on US gun laws, please refer to the Giffords URL below]
Prohibited Purchasers Generally in Alabama
Federal law prohibits certain persons from purchasing or possessing firearms, such as felons, certain domestic abusers, and certain people with a history of mental illness.
Alabama law provides that, subject to certain limited exceptions, no person shall possess or own a handgun if he or she:
- Has been convicted of committing, or attempting to commit, a crime of violence; or
- Is a drug addict or a habitual drunkard.
Crimes of violence include murder, manslaughter (except manslaughter arising out of the operation of a vehicle), rape, mayhem, assault with intent to rob, assault with intent to ravish, assault with intent to murder, robbery, burglary, kidnapping and larceny.
Note, however, that Alabama law prohibits sales to these individuals only if the seller "has reasonable cause to believe" the buyer falls within one of these categories, or is of unsound mind…
Alabama has no laws preventing the purchase or possession of firearms by persons subject to domestic violence restraining orders, or by juvenile offenders…