Huntsville cannot enact local firearm ordinances — Alabama Code Section 13A-11-61.3 gives the Legislature complete control over firearm and ammunition regulation, expressly stripping municipalities of home-rule authority over guns. Carry, purchase, and possession rules are uniform statewide.
Ala. Code Sec. 13A-11-61.3 vests 'complete control over regulation and policy pertaining to firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories' in the Alabama Legislature. The current preemption framework was redrafted in 2013 (Act 2013-283) and strengthened by Act 2024-232, which added a prohibition on any governmental entity keeping a list, record, or registry of privately owned firearms (with narrow law-enforcement exceptions) and bans local gun-buyback programs that pay 'remuneration' for surrendered firearms. Huntsville retains only narrow remaining authority: rules for its own employees on duty, generally applicable zoning, firing-range operations, competition standards, collection of standard taxes, and certain limited license-revocation actions. Statewide, Alabama became a permitless (constitutional) carry state on January 1, 2023 — any non-prohibited adult 19+ may carry a handgun openly or concealed without a state permit (Act 2022-133).
Any Huntsville ordinance conflicting with Sec. 13A-11-61.3 is void. An affected citizen may petition the state Attorney General, who must act within 90 days to challenge the ordinance or issue a written explanation declining to do so.
See how Huntsville's local firearms preemption rules stack up against other locations.
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