Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum AL Code Question: Concealed Carry at School Building

Where is the Alabama Code section dealing with school buildings, concealed carry, and intent to do harm?

I've looked but can't find it.

As far as I know that is a federal law. The new alabama law says you can't carry in a building with guards or barriers if it is prohibited and some have said that includes schools. I would not carry inside a school but would if just picking up or dropping off a child and staying in a car.

13A-11-72 (C) Certain persons prohibited.
Certain persons forbidden to possess pistol.

(a) No person who has been convicted in this state or elsewhere of committing or attempting to commit a crime of violence shall own a pistol or have one in his or her possession or under his or her control.

(b) No person who is a drug addict or an habitual drunkard shall own a pistol or have one in his or her possession or under his or her control.

(c) Subject to the exceptions provided by Section 13A-11-74, no person shall knowingly with intent to do bodily harm carry or possess a deadly weapon on the premises of a public school.

(d) Possession of a deadly weapon with the intent to do bodily harm on the premises of a public school in violation of subsection (c) of this section is a Class C felony.

(e) School security personnel and school resource officers qualified under subsection (a) of Section 16-1-44.1, employed by a local board of education, and authorized by the employing local board of education to carry a deadly weapon while on duty are exempt from subsection (c) of this section. Law enforcement officers are exempt from this section, and persons with pistol permits issued pursuant to Section 13A-11-75, are exempt from subsection (c) of this section.

(f) The term "school resource officer" as used in this section means an Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commissioner-certified law enforcement officer employed by a law enforcement agency who is specifically selected and specially trained for the school setting.

(g) The term "public school" as used in this section applies only to a school composed of grades K-12 and shall include a school bus used for grades K-12.

(h) The term "deadly weapon" as used in this section means a firearm or anything manifestly designed, made, or adapted for the purposes of inflicting death or serious physical injury, and such term includes, but is not limited to, a bazooka, hand grenade, missile, or explosive or incendiary device; a pistol, rifle, or shotgun; or a switch-blade knife, gravity knife, stiletto, sword, or dagger; or any club, baton, billy, black-jack, bludgeon, or metal knuckles

This is the part of the new law that many feel includes school buildings due to the posting of school resource officers.




(1) Inside the building of a police, sheriff, or highway patrol station.
(2) Inside or on the premises of a prison, jail, halfway house, community corrections facility, or
other detention facility for those who have been charged with or convicted of a criminal or
juvenile offense.
(3) Inside or on the premises of a facility which provides inpatient or custodial care of those with
psychiatric, mental, or emotional disorders.
(4) Inside a courthouse, courthouse annex, a building in which a District Attorney's office is
located, or a building in which a county commission or city council is currently having a
regularly scheduled or specially called meeting.
(5) Inside any facility hosting an athletic event not related to or involving firearms which is
sponsored by a private or public elementary or secondary school or any private or public
institution of postsecondary education, unless the person has a permit issued under Section 13A-
11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section 13A-11-85.
(6) Inside any facility hosting a professional athletic event not related to or involving firearms,
unless the person has a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section
13A-11-85.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), a person, including a person with a permit
issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section 13A-11-85, may not, without
the express permission of a person or entity with authority over the premises, knowingly possess
or carry a firearm inside any building or facility to which access of unauthorized persons and
prohibited articles is limited during normal hours of operation by the continuous posting of
guards and the use of other security features, including, but not limited to, magnetometers, key
cards, biometric screening devices, or turnstiles or other physical barriers.
(c) The person or entity with authority over the premises set forth in subsections (a)(1)-(6) and
subsection (b) shall place a notice at the public entrances of such premises or buildings alerting
those entering that firearms are prohibited.
(d) Except as provided in subsections (a)(5) and (a)(6), any firearm on the premises of any
facility set forth in subsection (a)(1), or subsections (a)(4)-(6), or subsection (b) must be kept
from ordinary observation and locked within a compartment or in the interior of the person's
motor vehicle or in a compartment or container securely affixed to the motor vehicle.
(e) A violation of subsections (a) or (d) is a Class C misdemeanor.
(f) This section shall not prohibit any person from possessing a firearm within the person's
residence or during ingress or egress thereto.

Reyn, that's it. Thanks

YOU CAN CARRY IN A SCHOOL IF PROPERLY LICENSED

You can carry in a school if properly licensed.

By "properly licensed" are you just referring to a conceal carry permit?

if so

Can anyone with a concealed carry permit conceal carry in any school?

^ and sorry if the answers to those questions are covered in all of that jumbo mumbo that was posted above. I need stuff dumbed down.

YES A CONCEALED PERMIT IS ALL THAT IS REQUIRED. BUT IF YOU ARE ASKED TO LEAVE TO THE SCHOOL AND DO NOT YOU CAN BE CHARGED WITH TRESPASSING. YOU CAN NOT BE CHARGED WITH A FIREARMS CRIME

Not everyone in law enforcement or in charge of the schools agree with that. Not saying that you guys aren't correct about the law, just that it may take your day in court to prove it. Here is an example.


Can I have my gun in my car when I pick my child up from school?  No.  Chief Deputy Stephens had this to say about the way the new Alabama gun law interacts with current Federal Law:

“What you have here is two laws that stand a little bit at odds with each other.  The Federal Gun-Free School Zones Act says you must have intent to commit an act to do bodily harm to someone to be restricted from carrying a pistol with a permit in school zones.

“Section 6b of the new Alabama law says a person may not possess or carry a firearm inside any building or facility to which access of unauthorized persons and prohibited articles is limited during normal hours of operations by the continuous posting of guards and the use of other security features.

“We contend that our SROs inside the school make this section applicable to them.”

Furthermore, Dr. Tommy Bice, State Superintendent of Education, recommends signage be installed at each school door and entrances on to campus stating no guns are allowed anywhere on school grounds, unless the person is a law enforcement officer.  The state board sent this notice to all city and county superintendents in Alabama explaining its position.

I find it strange that the majority of public owned buildings and property are constitutional free zones.

And they are all wrong. The law does not forbid anyone with a CCW from carrying a gun in a school. In fact, the attorney general recently told several municipal governments they couldn't restrict guns from all city buildings. Same for counties.

SROs may qualify as guards. But, they do not fall under any of the other conditions. They can not keep employees from having a gun in their cars either.

There was a person in Huntsville that had a gun in his backpack and left it in the gym. When he went back to get it, they found out he had a gun in it. The school wanted him charged. The sheriff informed them that he had broken no law. The only thing they could do was ban him from the property for one year.

I would never trust a police officers version of what is legal and illegal. As I have had more than one state on the witness stand, their job is to enforce the law, not know the law.

And I agree with you. I am just saying that for me, at this time, carrying in a school is not worth the risk knowing the way some have interpreted these new laws and I am not ready to spend the time in court proving you are right. For me it is a non issue anyway as I don't spend any time in a public school. I just renewed my permit today and had to leave my gun in the car to go in the sheriff's office. It's the first time I have not had it on me in months so there are very few places I go where you are not allowed to carry. About the only place I go its not allowed is the building permit office and they have a metal detector and guard since it is in the courthouse building.

I can't carry several places I have to go. Jails, prisons and courthouses. But, I carry in school when I go see my sons and when I go see my wife who is a teacher.

Even if there is a sign stating no firearms allowed?

Signage doesn't negate your rights, but it does bring up the conflict between property rights and personal rights. If you are asked to leave and don't, then trespassing issues.

That's my understanding, maybe doekiller or another legal scholar will chime in.

Straycat is correct. The sign is meaningless. You can be charged with treaspassing if you refuse to leave just like you could on any other private property.

I was having a conversation about this with a Shelby County teacher over the holidays. The individual said that as soon as the new laws passed a couple of years ago the school board sent out a memo stating that even with the law the teachers could not carry a pistol in their car or they would be in breach of their contract and terminated. I thought this was the very thing the law was trying to correct.