Tuscaloosa Activists Divided Over Proposed Gun Reform Measures In Congress

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The nation's lawmakers are poised to soon consider a landmark piece of legislation regarding gun reform, as news broke over the weekend of a bipartisan agreement on a set of policies aimed at combatting out of control violence in America.

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The measure has yet to be drafted into a bill, but major news outlets reported on Sunday that a bipartisan group of 20 United States senators — including 10 Republicans — had reached a deal on a "common sense" package of laws that include:

• A federal law against gun trafficking and straw purchasing, which is gear toward stopping the flow of illegal guns into cities.
• Funding for crisis intervention orders — also referred to as red flag laws — that would allow law enforcement to temporarily take weapons away from those deemed a danger to themselves or others.
• Funding for mental health services and school safety, which would include funding for community mental health clinics.
• One measure proposes closing the “boyfriend loophole," meaning those convicted of domestic abuse will be prohibited from purchasing a firearm.
• Enhanced background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21, in addition to a short pause to conduct the check. Gun purchases for those under 21 will only be permitted upon completion of the enhanced check.
• According to U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, the measure proposes adding clarity to the law regarding who is required to register as a licensed gun dealer, in an effort to add additional oversight of commercial sellers to ensure they are conducting background checks.

ALSO READ: God, Guns & The GOP: Inside The BamaCarry 2022 State Convention

While the push for gun reform in America comes following the recent deadly mass shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas, it also presents itself at a time when many Alabama Republican lawmakers and political candidates insist the Second Amendment is "under attack."

As Patch previously reported, a bill was passed and signed into law earlier this year that removed the permit requirement for Alabama handgun owners concealing their firearm on their person or in their vehicle. It represented a long-sought victory for a certain segment of Alabama Republicans after numerous failed attempts over the last decade.

The measure passed thanks in large part to the lobbying efforts of BamaCarry Inc. — an influential statewide gun rights advocacy group based in Tuscaloosa that focuses on forwarding policies supported by its members.

BamaCarry President Eddie Fulmer referred to the bipartisan proposal as nothing more than the government's latest attempt to infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens who already comply with statutes on the books.

"There’s much more in the bill than we are being told, there always is," he told Patch. "It’s always in the name of safety, but the reality is about 90% of people who are victims of a mass shooting become victims in a gun free zone. Nothing they plan on doing will accomplish anything toward curbing crimes with guns. Nothing they’ve promised in the past have made any difference in crime."

The figure on gun-free zones provided by Fulmer is indeed aligned with similar like-minded pro-gun advocacy groups, such as United States Concealed Carry Association, which claims that number is in the range of 85%.

On the opposite side of the idealogical spectrum, Tuscaloosa County Democratic Party Chair Judy Taylor said only time will tell with respect to the efficacy of the measures proposed in Congress.

While Taylor insisted that local Democrats are not proposing "gun grabs," Taylor echoed the same point mentioned by many parents and community members in places affected by mass shootings — something must be done.

"We haven't seen the bill, so we don't know what this bipartisan agreement will mean, but unless this has some points where we can enforce it and the federal government will enforce it, then I doubt seriously anything will change," she told Patch.

One measure she had hoped to see that has not been mentioned in the bipartisan discussions is a ban on the sale of assault weapons. Taylor also was quick to say she was not advocating for current owners to have their assault weapon seized.

"We're very concerned with the gun violence in our our county and city," she said. "We have one of the highest rates of gun violence and gun deaths as a city. I think, personally, that is related to the influence of the [National Rifle Association] in our Legislature."

Indeed, the NRA is the most powerful national gun lobbying group in America and is a contributor to all seven Republican incumbents in Alabama's Congressional Delegation. And, like BamaCarry, it also plays a central role in the formation of gun policy in the state legislature.

For members of BamaCarry and the NRA, though, the prevailing sentiment is that not enough is being done to protect the rights and safety of law-abiding citizens. Fulmer then proposed harsher punishments for violent offenders as a way of deterring violent crime before it occurs — especially in places like Tuscaloosa, where the trafficking of illegal firearms has become a visible concern for community safety.

"The catch and release program has never, and will never work, yet politicians are still embracing it," Fulmer said. "Murder is against the law already, as is assaulting someone, but it still happens and usually by repeat offenders. We’ve done so well with drug laws and yet our government is allowing them to come across the border every hour by the truckload. You cannot stop someone intent on evil by passing a law. They will find a way."

While pro-gun advocates in Alabama are skeptical of the intentions and potential repercussions of the proposed measures in Congress, components such as a federal law against straw purchases are likely to be well-received in cities like Tuscaloosa.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, a straw purchase occurs when an individual who meets the necessary criteria to purchase a firearm buys a gun for another individual who is prohibited from owning a gun because of a felony conviction.

Even before the latest tragic acts of mass murder in different parts of the country, recent months have seen a local crackdown on straw purchases in the Tuscaloosa area, with law enforcement citing how often stolen guns used in violent crimes are obtained by way of the practice.

Law enforcement leaders across the state — headed up by the Alabama Sheriff's Association — have been openly opposed to expanding access to guns with legislation like the recently-passed "Constitutional Carry" bill, claiming it will make an already difficult job that much more dangerous.

As Patch previously reported, officers with the Tuscaloosa Police Department responded to a total of 205 calls where a firearm was somehow involved in 2021. What's more, call data from the same year showed TPD logged 354 arrests for failure to have a gun permit and another 120 arrests of individuals prohibited from owning firearms.

Each of these calls and arrests easily could have resulted in tragedy. Tuscaloosa knows all too well the pain felt when a police officer is killed in the line of duty, following the 2019 shooting death of TPD Investigator Dornell Cousette and, most recently, the line of duty death of Meridian Police officer and Tuscaloosa native Kennis Croom last Thursday.

"In the past here in the city, we saw 318 guns stolen in one year out of locked cars," Judy Taylor pointed out. "One of the things that indicates to me is that we have a huge gun trafficking problem, because, if I can pass a background check, buy a gun and then lose it because it is stolen from my unlocked car, this is where legal liability of gun ownership should come in, just like automobiles. If we had the same kind of responsibility as a gun owner that we have as an automobile driver, we would see significant change."

Fulmer has argued, though, that the opposition on the part of county sheriffs is not due to officer safety so much as it is the loss of revenue generated by the sale of pistol permits, which are still available for purchase, but no longer required by state law.

He also insists that the federal push for gun reform will only result in more constitutional rights being stripped away from law-abiding Americans.

"This is nothing but a folding, and what I call an act of tyranny by our elected officials who swore an oath to protect and defend America’s Constitution and yet here they are trying to shred it," he said. "The final straw will be when guns are finally outlawed, and citizens become subjects."

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