Birmingham cannot enact local firearm ordinances — Alabama Code Section 13A-11-61.3 gives the Legislature complete control over firearm and ammunition regulation and policy, expressly stripping municipalities of home-rule authority over guns. Carry, purchase, and possession rules are uniform statewide.
Ala. Code Sec. 13A-11-61.3 declares that the Legislature 'has complete control over regulation and policy pertaining to firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories' to ensure uniform application statewide, and expressly preempts the home-rule authority of municipalities and counties to regulate guns. The statute was redrafted in 2013 (Act 2013-283) and strengthened by Act 2024-232 to prohibit any governmental entity from keeping a registry of privately owned firearms and to bar local participation in gun-buyback programs that pay 'remuneration' for surrendered firearms. Birmingham retains a narrow set of remaining powers: regulating its own employees' conduct on duty, applying generally applicable zoning rules, governing firing-range operations, regulating competitions, collecting standard taxes, and certain limited license-revocation actions. Statewide, Alabama became a permitless (constitutional) carry state on January 1, 2023 (Act 2022-133) — any non-prohibited adult 19+ may carry a handgun openly or concealed without a state permit.
Any Birmingham ordinance conflicting with Sec. 13A-11-61.3 is void. The statute empowers an affected citizen to petition the state Attorney General, who must act within 90 days to challenge the ordinance in court or issue a written explanation declining to do so.
See how Birmingham's local firearms preemption rules stack up against other locations.
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