By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — If you’ve gone to in the last week or are going soon to a public building in Trussville, you’re going to notice new stickers on the doors.
The black stickers show a firearm with a slash through it and state, “No Firearms Allowed on the Premises.”
The stickers were posted last week at public buildings in Trussville, such as Trussville City Hall, the Trussville Public Library and the Trussville Civic Center.
At the bottom of the stickers, it states, “Pursuant to Act 2013-283.” That act became law effective Aug. 1, 2013, and changed firearm laws in the state of Alabama. Some of the highlights:
- A handgun may be transported in a vehicle without a permit if it’s unloaded, placed in a container and isn’t accessible by the driver and passengers in the vehicle.
- A handgun may be carried loaded and accessible in a vehicle if the person armed has a concealed carry permit.
- An employee may have a handgun in his or her vehicle their place of employment providing that they have a valid concealed carry permit and that they secure the handgun in their vehicle while at work. A rifle or shotgun is allowed provided that they are unloaded, secured in the vehicle and the employee has a valid Alabama hunting license.
- Firearm possession is restricted at certain locations including, but not limited to, sheriff’s offices, police stations, highway patrol stations, corrections facilities, court buildings, city council and county commission chamber buildings, facilities hosting athletic events involving private or public elementary or secondary schools and premises that limit unauthorized persons and articles by means of guards, electronic scanning, turnstiles, or physical barriers.
That final item applies to what Trussville has done. Mayor Gene Melton said he made the decision to post the stickers so people don’t come into city buildings with a firearm.
“By law, if we post it, they can’t bring it in,” Melton said.
Melton said the reason for posting the stickers is “to protect the people who work in these buildings.”
“Our citizens don’t expect to see somebody walk in with an AR-15,” Melton said.
Last week, Alabamians voted in favor — 72 percent to 28 percent — of a new amendment to the state’s constitution, which says that every Alabama citizen has a fundamental right to bear arms and that any restriction on this right would be subject to strict scrutiny.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.