Skip to Content

The Alabama House of Representatives passed HB360 Tuesday 73-29, creating an annual sales tax holiday on firearms, ammunition, and hunting supplies, after Republicans invoked cloture to end a Democratic filibuster.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Chris Sells (R-Greenville), would exempt purchases of firearms, ammunition, and hunting supplies from state sales and use tax from 12:01 a.m. on the last Friday in August through midnight on the following Sunday. Counties and municipalities could opt in to extend the exemption to local sales taxes as well, provided they adopt a resolution by June 1 of the given year.

Under the bill, hunting supplies eligible for the exemption include archery equipment, firearm and archery cases and accessories, hearing protection, holsters, belts, slings, and suppressors.

According to the bill’s fiscal note, the holiday would reduce annual sales tax receipts to the Education Trust Fund by an estimated $386,000 beginning in fiscal year 2026. If local governments opt in, counties and municipalities could see an additional $506,000 annual reduction in their own sales tax receipts.

Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter framed the bill as a rare piece of legislation hitting three conservative priorities at once.

“The Alabama Legislature has a strong record of protecting the Second Amendment, cutting taxes, and helping small businesses turn a dollar, but I believe this is the first piece of legislation we have passed supporting all three of those conservative principles at once,” Ledbetter said. “This legislation is about supporting responsible gun ownership, and I am hopeful that it will provide meaningful tax relief for Alabama families while also driving economic activity for retailers and outdoor businesses across our state.”

Sells echoed that framing, drawing a contrast with other states.

“I am proud that while other states are constantly working to weaken the rights of law-abiding gun owners, Alabama is sending a clear message that it fully backs the Second Amendment,” Sells said. “Alabama is a state that believes in every word of the United States Constitution, and the Legislature will always step up to protect the fundamental freedoms of our citizens.”

House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) questioned whether the bill reflected the right priorities for struggling Alabamians.

“There are individuals out here that are really having a hard time at the grocery store,” Daniels said. “They’re having a hard time making ends meet. A lot of their folks right now are furloughed. I just think that our priorities should be a little bit different than really focusing on issues that are actually not going to help the average person.”

Rep. Reed Ingram (R-Pike Road) pushed back on concerns about the bill’s fiscal impact, arguing the holiday would ultimately drive more consumer spending.

“More people are going to come back and buy more supplies because they’re going to need more ammo the next week,” Ingram said. “More people are buying that kind of supply, it’s going to create more of a market. I just don’t think it’s going to have a negative effect on the general fund or the education fund at all.”

HB360 now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at sawyer@yellowhammernews.com.

Statewide 2nd Amendment rights advocacy organization, BamaCarry, has announced endorsements in two GOP primary races in Alabama’s 2026 election cycle.

The group formally endorsed State Auditor Andrew Sorrell in his campaign for Alabama Secretary of State.

Sorrell, a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives, is a vocal advocate of the 2nd Amendment. During his time in the Legislature, he supported the successful passage of Alabama’s permitless carry law, which allows residents to carry concealed handguns without a permit.

“Alabama, it’s time to take a stand for our rights and our future! Andrew Sorrell, our trusted State Auditor and former State Representative for District 3, is running for Secretary of State-and he is the leader we need,” the endorsement from BamaCarry’s board reads.

“With a proven track record as a strong advocate for the 2nd Amendment, Andrew has tirelessly fought for our freedoms and stood side by side with BamaCarry. Andrew was instrumental in the passing the permitless carry bill, empowering Alabamians to protect themselves and their loved ones. Now, more than ever, we need a Secretary of State who embodies our values and champions our rights. Andrew Sorrell is that leader-committed to transparency, integrity, and the protection of our constitutional freedoms.”

Sorrell faces Republican primary opposition from Caroleene Dobson, a Montgomery attorney who previously ran for Congress in Alabama’s 2nd District. Dobson has emphasized election security measures and reducing business filing fees as part of her campaign platform.

In addition to Sorrell, BamaCarry also endorsed Case Dixon, a candidate for U.S. Congress in Alabama’s 6th District. Dixon, a physical therapist assistant from McCalla, has made protecting constitutional rights, including the Second Amendment, a central part of his campaign.

Dixon is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover), who has represented the district since 2015. Palmer, a senior member of the House Republican Conference, is seeking re-election in 2026.

Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is urging members of Congress to protect Americans’ Second Amendment rights across state lines.

Marshall recently sent a multi-state letter calling on the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. The resolution, H.R. 38, would allow those who are lawfully cleared to carry a concealed firearm in their home state to enjoy the same privileges in any other state where concealed carry is legal.

“Congress has the power to resolve this issue, and we are calling for immediate action on H.R. 38,” Marshall said. “Although Alabama no longer requires a permit to carry a concealed firearm, Alabamians traveling around our country might opt to purchase a permit to enjoy national reciprocity and would no longer face the risk of criminal penalties simply for exercising their constitutional rights in states with more restrictive laws.”

RELATED: Alabama AG Steve Marshall at Southern Border: ‘The shackles are off’-Trump immigration crackdown working’

Constitutional Carry went into effect in Alabama in 2023, allowing Alabamians to conceal carry without a permit.

Marshall and 23 other state attorneys general emphasized that broad rights for concealed carry among law-abiding citizens promote public safety and respect gun owners’ fundamental liberties.

“Concealed carry is a constitutional right,” the letter states, “and it can have substantial public safety benefits by allowing people the means to respond to emergent threats to themselves or others when police are not immediately available to intervene.”

The letter refutes anti-gun critics, noting that anyone prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm is excluded. The attorneys general also cite independent studies showing that concealed carry licensees are more law-abiding than the general population.

RELATED: Tuberville, Britt reintroduce pro-second amendment Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act

“Yet our constituents are threatened with arrest, prosecution, and mandatory prison time for technical violations of licensing or possession laws involving conduct that is perfectly legal in all but a handful of states, most of which have well-established history and practice of suppressing the right to keep and bear arms,” the letter explains. “This is unacceptable, and Congress has the authority and the duty to protect these rights.”

The Oklahoma and West Virginia-led letter was also signed by Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) reintroduced a bill Monday that will help protect Americans’ Second Amendment rights.

Tuberville joined U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kans.) in reintroducing the Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today (SHORT) Act. This legislation would remove the taxation, registration, and regulation of short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and any other weapons under the National Firearms Act (NFA).

“For too long, unelected bureaucrats have misplaced their priorities by overregulating the use of firearms that Americans are legally entitled to own,” Tuberville said. “Every American has a right to bear arms to protect themselves and their families. I’m proud to join legislation that cuts red tape and protects law-abiding gun-owners.”

Every American has a right to bear arms to protect themselves and their families.

I am proud to join @RogerMarshallMD in reintroducing the SHORT Act to cut red tape and protect law-abiding gun owners. https://t.co/lKMSd7d8If

— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) March 31, 2025

The measure is meant to protect against overregulation of gun owners by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

RELATED: Tuberville, Britt reintroduce pro-second amendment Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act

“‘Shall not be infringed’ is crystal clear – and the Biden-era abuses of the Constitutionally protected rights of gun owners across the country need to be undone,” Marshall said.

“The SHORT Act takes a step toward rolling back nonsensical regulations that the National Firearms Act has placed upon gun owners. I challenge my colleagues in both chambers to pass this legislation and join me in fully restoring and protecting our God-given Second Amendment rights.”

The Biden Administration used the NFA to go after people who own pistols with stabilizing braces. The ATF under Biden enforced the ban. Gun owners who wanted to keep their firearms had to either violate the regulation or sign up in a registry titled “Amnesty Registration of Pistol Brace Weapons.”

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) co-sponsored the measure along with U.S. Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N. Dak.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Jim Justice (R-W. Va.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Pete Ricketts (R-Nebr.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) in cosponsoring the legislation.

Gun owners of America and the National Association of Gun Rights have endorsed the bill.

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

7. As Democrats continue their use of language they barely understand, such as suggesting Elon Musk is a Nazi or declaring everything they disagree with as “fascism,” unhinged people are now engaging in acts of terrorism and vandalism with some now trying to mow others down over politics (this is terrorism, too). For example, 70-year-old Christopher Talbot is now facing aggravated battery charges in Meridian, Idaho, after police say he deliberately struck a 49-year-old counter-protester with his vehicle during a “Tesla Takedown” protest. The victim, who had just exited his truck adorned with pro-Trump flags, recorded Talbot’s license plate before seeking treatment for non-life-threatening injuries, leading to Talbot’s arrest at his home. These sad rallies took place all over the country against a private company because the CEO is attempting to find waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.

6. The Morgan County Republican Party adopted a resolution demanding the repeal of a law banning Glock switches, claiming its vague wording could criminalize law-abiding gun owners for possessing common items like shoelaces while doing little to deter crime. Morgan County Republican Executive Committee member Christopher E. Greenstein criticized the law’s lack of new penalties for violent offenders and its echo of flawed federal restrictions, which was its point. He urged other county GOP groups to push similar resolutions to bolster Second Amendment protections, which seem unlikely, as similar laws exist in a good number of states.

5. The Republican majority could be in danger in the United States House of Representatives if what happened in Louisiana becomes a trend. Florida, Wisconsin, and Virginia are holding elections that could shift both numbers and moods against Republicans as Democrats are polling at historically bad levels. Louisiana Republicans tried to remake the courts, rein in spending while lowering taxes, charge more minors as adults, and change how judges are appointed. They went 0-4.

4. Unfortunately, Tametria Conner Dantzler (a former Montgomery-based WSFA-TV reporter) received am embarrassingly lenient sentence of one month in prison, a year of weekend jail stays, and three years of supervised release from U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson, who inexplicably cited her children’s needs, after she pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering for stealing $927,000 in COVID relief dollars. Dantzler admitted to falsifying EIDL applications in June 2020 for fake companies like Conner Consulting, using the money for personal purchases like a house and car. She also helped others fraudulently secure an additional $1,049,864, proving this was deliberate and malicious and warranted more time in jail.

3. President Donald Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker he’s “not joking” about exploring ways to secure a third term, saying “lot of people want me to do it.” People are taking this seriously. When Trump was asked about having JD Vance run in 2028 and transferring power back to Trump, he played along. This will lead to the media and their Democrats freaking out by design because every person involved wishes they are living in an episode of “House of Cards.”

2. Tone deaf and politically stupid Republican lawmakers think that talking to crowds of malcontents will go fine because THEY are the ones that can figure out how to soothe them and not end up being embarrassed nationwide. Wrong. U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) held a contentious and poorly thought-out town hall, where over 500 constituents booed and chanted “do your job” as she tackled questions on DOGE cuts, Trump policies, and the Signal app leak, defying NRCC advice to avoid in-person forums. 

1. There will be some form of a gambling bill to fight over in the Alabama Legislature, according to State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore). He is championing a broad gaming package that would establish six Class II gambling sites, sports betting, a lottery, and oversight commissions, though he’s struggling to secure votes due to “fear of political blowback” with elections looming in 2026. The bill, which Albritton has been drafting since early in the session, proposes a 24% tax on gaming revenue, a $2,500 per-machine privilege tax, and a voter approval date of Sept. 16 to kickstart operations by December.

Listen here:

Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN.

The Alabama Senate passed SB116, known as the Glock switch bill, which would impose stricter penalties on the possession and distribution of Glock switches—illegal firearm modifications that turn semiautomatic pistols into fully automatic weapons.

The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road) now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives for further consideration. 

RELATED: After approval from Senate committee, Glock switch crackdown gains momentum

“Under federal law, a machine gun conversion device is already illegal. Some would say, then, ‘Why do we need a state statute addressing what is already against federal law?’ The reason for that is because when law enforcement pulls someone over and they have one of these machine gun conversion devices, they don’t have the ability to act unless they’re part of a federal task force to arrest and prosecute them on the scene under state law,” explained Barfoot.

SB116 builds on existing state and federal laws prohibiting machine gun conversions by introducing harsher state-level penalties. Governor Kay Ivey voiced her support for the measure in her State of the State address and reaffirmed her endorsement later, placing the legislation as part of the “Safe Alabama” legislative package aimed at enhancing public safety.

“You may recall that the governor in her State of the State speech discussed this very literally,” said Barfoot. “I want to give credit for credit to lots of people who had a hand in trying to craft this piece of legislation to get it to the point that it is now.”

Barfoot credited State Rep. Phillip Ensler (D-Montgomery) credit for introducing the bill in the House in previous legislative sessions and thanked him for his role in crafting the legislation.

RELATED: Lawmakers introduce ‘Safe Alabama’ package to strengthen law enforcement and tackle violent crime

Law enforcement officials, prosecutors and mayors have voiced strong support for the measure, emphasizing the need for clearer enforcement mechanisms at the state level.

The bill defines a machine gun as “any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.” While there was some discussion surrounding the potential outlawing of binary triggers under the bill, Barfoot emphasized that the legislation is not aimed at restricting those, as they are not illegal under federal law.

“We want to make sure that we protect that, certainly as a proponent of Second Amendment rights and a firearm owner for multiple firearms. There’s a balancing act there,” Barfoot said.

SB116 was amended on the floor and passed with a vote of 28-0. Tuesday is day nine of the 2025 state legislative session.

Grace Heim is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You can follow her on X @graceeheim or email her at grace@yellowhammernews.com.

U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt are working to ensure that Americans practicing their Second Amendment rights are not discriminated against while traveling from state to state.

In an attempt to solve a dilemma centered on the use of concealed carry permits, the pair of Alabama lawmakers, along with a group of fellow Senate Republicans, reintroduced the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. The legislation would allow those with concealed carry permits from one state to carry in others that also have a permit system much like a driver’s license.

“For too long, federal officials have misplaced their priorities by over-regulating the use of firearms that Americans are legally entitled to own,” said Tuberville (R-Auburn). “The constant malignment of Americans exercising a constitutional right has to end.”

“Thousands of law-abiding Alabamians proudly exercise concealed carry privileges for their personal safety, and I’m proud to join legislation that strengthens these protections for them and millions of other Americans.”

The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act would specifically:

Tuberville and Britt cosponsored and introduced the legislation upon its original introduction in February 2023.

The legislation is endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), and Gun Owners of America (GOA).

In 2022, Governor Kay Ivey signed constitutional carry into law in the state of Alabama, repealing the need for state-required concealed carry permits.

Austen Shipley is the News Director for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on  X @ShipleyAusten

Citizens in Montgomery Alabama are raising concerns after a picture of a man holding a rifle off the side of the road went viral this week.

The photo shows two men standing on the curb located near Woodley Road in Montgomery. Both men are talking to someone in an SUV, and one of the men is wearing a ski mask while openly carrying what appears to be an AR-15 style rifle.

The picture got so much attention that Mayor Steven Reed’s chief of staff, Chip Hill, attempted to frame the narrative, coming to the defense of the man pictured.

“We are aware of the photograph being passed around showing a man walking on Southern Boulevard with a rifle,” Hill said. “If the photo is real, it is troubling. But, I consulted with PD and they said the man is not in violation of any Alabama gun law. Thanks for inquiring.”

https://x.com/Chip_Hill/status/1821528623414665263

Hill referenced that under state law, those over the age of 18 can legally carry a firearm without a permit after Constitutional Carry was passed in 2022 by the Alabama Legislature. Alabama is considered an open carry state, which means if a person is legally able to own a firearm, they do not need a permit to open carry.

However, that law would not apply to this situation since the man in the photo was not concealing the gun.

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee

We’ve all seen the headlines coming out of Montgomery in the last few months.

Someone gets killed or seriously injured, the mayor holds a press conference blaming everyone but himself, until the next violent incident, where it just repeats itself.

We’re only halfway through 2024, and there have already been at least 35 homicides and hundreds of shootings in Montgomery.

Mayor Steven Reed wants you to believe that there just isn’t anything he can do.

According to him, the violence Alabama’s Capital City is experiencing stems from the Legislature passing a constitutional carry law two years ago.

As a retired police officer and chairman of the House Public Safety Homeland Security Committee, I have a few issues with that statement.

The first is that the criminals who are killing people would have never gotten a pistol permit to carry what is, in most cases, a stolen firearm. Law-abiding gun owners aren’t the ones firing off 1,000 rounds over a disagreement at a party.

My next issue is, how can we expect law and order when the Montgomery Police Department, which Mayor Reed is responsible for, is so poorly run that its attrition rate is among the worst in the state? I know from my 31 years as a law enforcement officer that the fastest way to run off good police officers is by not supporting them. When officer morale is as low as it is in the City of Montgomery’s Police Department, due to either a lack of leadership, support from its elected officials, or its critical staffing level, you end up with a department incapable of combating Montgomery’s crime.

Finally, Mayor Reed argues that police officers cannot determine who is or isn’t lawfully carrying a firearm because the Legislature removed the requirement for law-abiding citizens to pay for their Second Amendment rights.

That’s totally false, and he knows it or should know it.

When we passed the constitutional carry legislation, the Legislature also passed a bill creating the Firearms Prohibited Person Database – the first in the nation. This tool enables law enforcement officers across the state to learn of a person’s inability to possess a firearm when running suspects’ information after making contact. I wonder if Montgomery PD is even utilizing this new law to protect citizens and police officers.

Back when concealed carry permits were still required, law enforcement relied on an antiquated system to track these permits that simply did not work as it should.

The first issue with the former system was that law enforcement had to contact the issuing authority to verify the permit’s validity, which was almost impossible to do outside of regular business hours. It wasn’t like verifying someone’s driver’s license – permits were issued by the counties and often had no security features.

The biggest and most dangerous issue that this new law solved is that we had no way of nullifying someone’s permit if they were convicted of a crime that prohibited them from owning or carrying a firearm.

For instance, if an individual is convicted by our courts or receives a protection order, they lose their right to carry a firearm under federal law. Prior to the Firearms Prohibited Person Database, we had no way to track this from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

The facts just aren’t on Mayor Reed’s side. Law enforcement can now determine in minutes whether someone is prohibited from carrying a firearm, which was not the case prior to the Legislature creating the Firearms Prohibited Person Database.

This problem didn’t magically appear when constitutional carry was implemented in 2022. Montgomery had 77 homicides in 2021 and 68 in 2020.

However, it is worth noting that the city averaged 38.5 homicides per year in the four years prior to Mayor Reed taking office in November 2019.

It’s easy to see that the Legislature didn’t cause this mess – local leadership did. You can’t expect your police force to be successful when it’s had a revolving door of police chiefs.

You can’t expect your city to be safe when the culture within the police department runs off good officers.

And you can’t expect people to believe this is anyone’s mess but your own, Mr. Mayor.

Allen Treadaway represents District 21 in the Alabama House of Representatives and as Chairman of the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee. He served 31 years with the Birmingham Police Department, retiring as Assistant Chief.

U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt is joining several of his Republican colleagues in fighting back against what he believes is an attempt to infringe on the free speech rights of gun owners.

Aderholt (R-Haleyville) joined an amicus brief led by U.S. Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) in the Supreme Court case NRA v. Vullo.

The case involves Maria Vullo, the Superintendent of the State of New York’s Financial Services, and her formal guidance issued to every bank and insurance company in the state urging them to “sever their ties” with the NRA.

She also promised leniency to insurers that stopped doing business with the NRA, and announced consent orders with longtime NRA insurers that imposed multimillion dollar fines on these insurers and barred them from engaging in future lawful business partnerships with the NRA.

RELATED: Aderholt: Ballot challenges ‘probably helping’ Trump, U.S. Supreme Court can ‘put this to rest’

“I was proud to join this amicus brief led by [Sen. Ted Budd] and [Rep. Rich Hudson],” Aderholt said. “Gun owners and groups don’t just have to defend our Second Amendment rights, but also our First Amendment rights from leftwing activists.”

I was proud to join this amicus brief led by @SenTedBuddNC and @RepRichHudson . Gun owners and groups don't just have to defend our Second Amendment rights, but also our First Amendment rights from leftwing activists.https://t.co/k1v7M8WVQu

— Robert Aderholt (@Robert_Aderholt) January 16, 2024

The brief argues that it not only infringes on the rights of gun owners, but also is an attack against states’ rights.

“This case presents other constitutional problems,” the brief states. “In their pursuit of the NRA and gun rights advocates, Cuomo, Vullo, and DFS used New York’s insurance laws to project power outside the State’s boundaries. Their agenda raises federalism concerns.”

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) also signed on to the brief, making it 18 Senators and 62 Representatives who signed it.

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

Not content with President Joe Biden’s ongoing efforts to erase the Second Amendment and make lawful gun ownership a rarity, fringe liberals within the administration are now implementing “bow control” policies by targeting and threatening schools that offer archery and hunting programs to students.

Using flawed logic that only a socialist committed to spreading their leftist agenda could argue with a straight face, liberal elements in the U.S. Department of Education are denying federal funding to schools that promote hunting and archery by claiming it violates the “Safer Communities Act” passed by Congress.

The department’s wildly broad interpretation of the act seeks to pressure schools to stop offering firearm safety courses and other electives and extracurricular activities that promote outdoor sports and gun use.

Our own Alma Bryant High School in Irvington, which is located within my legislative district, offers a competitive archery team under the National Archery in the Schools Program, which serves roughly 1.3 million students in nearly 9,000 schools across 49 states.

Bryant High students who compete and win in archery tournaments are able to secure college scholarships, and four members of the Hurricane Archery Team have been awarded scholarships in each of the past four years.

The members of the archery team also participate in volunteer community service activities such as replanting grasses on sand dunes on Dauphin Island, teaching archery to children at youth camps, beautifying their school campus, and raising charitable contributions through the Walk for Diabetes, the Cancer Relay for Life, and other events.

But if the liberal education bureaucrats in D.C. are successful in their efforts, Bryant High will be forced to either end its archery program and the scholarships it offers or forfeit any federal dollars to which it is entitled.

The “Catch-22” situation offers a prime example of a Deep State strong-arm tactic designed solely to achieve an extremist political and ideological end.

Those promoting the broad and flawed interpretation of federal law hope to steer our children away from the rich traditions of hunting, safe firearm handling, and archery and prevent them from being passed down to future generations.

Alabama is fortunate to have committed conservatives in our congressional delegation who are fighting back against the fringe radicals tucked deep within the federal government.

The “Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act” plainspoken measure that simply states federal dollars may not be denied to schools that offer safe and approved firearm and archery programs.

It also prohibits the “Safer Communities Act” from being utilized as the reason for a denial of funds.

Far too often in recent years, liberals have achieved their goals by circumventing Congress through the use of overreaching executive orders, suffocating regulations, and twisted interpretations of federal statutes.

And if liberal Democrats are allowed to maintain control of the White House in the coming election, such abuses will only become more common as the already emboldened Deep State becomes even bolder.

The students on the Alma Bryant High School Hurricane Archery Team are currently receiving a first-hand civics lesson on how the federal government is NOT supposed to work, and they are seeing strong evidence that the vision of freedom that our founding fathers fought so hard to create is being eroded before our eyes.

Those of us who believe in the U.S. Constitution and embrace the very foundation of moral law must continue the fight against the excesses of the left and shine a spotlight on abuses whenever we see them occur.

Rep. Chip Brown (R – Hollinger’s Island) proudly represents District 105 covering Mobile County and serves as the chairman of the House Ports, Waterways, and Intermodal Transit Committee.

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore believes a new rule by the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Administration (ATF) is unconstitutional and is joining the effort to block it.

The rule, titled “Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached Stabilizing Braces,” would reclassify pistols as short-barreled rifles if they have a stabilizing brace attachment.

Tuesday, Moore (R-Enterprise) voted for a joint resolution to block the rule, saying many disabled veterans and other Americans rely on these braces to use their firearms.

“This malignant rule, enacted by Biden’s army of unelected bureaucrats at the ATF, turns 29 million Americans into felons overnight,” Moore said in a statement. “House Republicans are stepping in to halt this unconstitutional rule that seeks to disarm millions of disabled Americans, including many veterans, just for possessing legal firearms with stabilizing braces. This isn’t about public safety: this is about the Democrats’ authoritarian desire to systematically disarm the American people.”

The congressman also gave a speech on the floor of the House, blasting the Biden administration for once again attacking the second amendment.

https://twitter.com/RepBarryMoore/status/1668679617199362048?s=20

“This is a blatant assault on our second amendment rights that makes 29 million Americans, including many veterans, subject to up to 10 years in prison and numerous fines,” he said. “I’m glad to see the courts getting involved to temporarily halt this rule, but we need more permanent solutions.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

Declaring the AR-15 synonymous with Americana, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) introduced the “AR-15 National Gun Act,” which would designate the weapon as the National Gun of the United States. Moore made the announcement during a press conference at Family Firearms in Troy.

The #SecondAmendment is as American a right as freedom of speech, religion, & the press.
Today I unveiled my bill to make the AR-15 the National Gun of America. We must send a message that we will meet every attack on any of our constitutional rights. pic.twitter.com/R7Yi6J10nh

— Rep. Barry Moore (@RepBarryMoore) February 21, 2023

“The anti-Second Amendment group won’t stop until they take away all your firearms,” said Moore. “One rule to remember: any government that would take away one right would take away them all.”

The congressman also talked about how the Biden administration continues to undermine gun rights of law-abiding citizens.

“We must send a message that we will meet every attack on our constitutional rights head on,” he said. “The Biden administration is still using the bureaucracy to restrict the Second Amendment. It isn’t gunowners whose rights are being attacked, but it’s gun store owners, as well.

“The Biden administration is doing all it can to restrict gun sales and drive folks like Family Firearms out of business.”

He also said why the AR-15 is the perfect gun to designate the “national gun of America.”

“For nearly two decades, unconstitutional and unAmerican anti-gun groups have specifically targeted the AR-15, despite it being the cornerstone of American culture for over 50 years,” he said. “If there is a specific firearm that is synonymous with the term ‘Americana,’ then it would be the AR-15.”

Moore hopes that this new legislation will be a step in the right direction in protecting the right to bear arms.

“The Second Amendment is under attack like never before,” he said. “So it’s important for us to raise awareness on how it’s being targeted, and to reinforce the importance of protecting all our constitutional rights.

“I’m proud to announce today my introduction of the AR-15 National Gun Act here in my district, and I pledge to do everything I can in Washington to fight to protect our Second Amendment rights.”

Family Firearms owner Sonnie Parker thanked Moore for his support of the store and gun rights.

“Every day we are battling those in Washington trying to take away our Second Amendment rights,” said Parker. “We’re extremely thankful for men like Congressman Barry Moore who are willing to go to war for us, stand up for our Second Amendment rights and battle those who continue to take those away from us.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

This past Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Democrat-sponsored “Assault Weapons Ban of 2022” by a vote of 217-213.

Every member of Alabama’s congressional delegation, besides U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham), voted against the sweeping measure.

The bill, which faces an uncertain fate in the U.S. Senate due to the chamber’s procedural rules, would ban some of the most utilized firearms and magazines in the United States.

The ban of so-called assault weapons prohibits the legal ownership of a variety of commonly used sporting rifles and home defense firearms. The legislation bans an array of semiautomatic firearms based on magazine capacity and characteristics that make a weapon capable of accepting a wide assortment of popular modifications.

Read the bill’s language in full here.

In a statement detailing his opposition to the bill, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) asserted that the legislative measure was congressional Democrats’ most recent effort to curtail the constitutional rights of law-abiding American citizens.

“This unconstitutional mandate won’t make Americans any safer and will instead result in the disarming of thousands of lawful gun owners who simply want to protect their families and exercise their constitutional rights,” declared Moore in a release. “Instead of performing their most fundamental duty to protect your Constitutional rights, Democrats are hellbent on taking them away.”

“This direct assault on the Second Amendment will capture millions of sporting rifles, shotguns, and pistols simply because they have certain mechanical features that even the authors of the bill have demonstrated they don’t understand,” he noted. “This bill even bans pistol braces used by disabled Americans, including many veterans, to sport shoot and hunt.”

According to Moore, the majority party had used the legislation as a means to actively campaign for the midterm elections in an endeavor to score political points on the trail.

“Anyone willing to steal one of your rights would take away all of them,” added Moore. “If Democrats cared about keeping Americans safe and not increasing their own power and using the House floor to campaign, they would engage in real bipartisan conversation and pursue solutions where common ground exists.”

The South Alabama congressman stated his intentions of continuing his efforts to combat Democrats’ attempts to “seize power” from the American citizenry.

“I am committed to doing all I can to force Congress to seek productive and constitutional measures that keep Americans safe, and I plan to introduce legislation next month that will increase safety in schools while protecting Constitutional rights. This issue is too important for freedom-loving Americans to remain on the sidelines, and I will continue doing all I can to fight those seeking to seize power from the people and give it to the government,” concluded Moore.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Active Shooter Alert Act of 2022.” The legislation, introduced by U.S. Reps. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.), passed in a bipartisan vote of 260–169.

The law would create an AMBER Alert system for law enforcement that would alert the public to active shooters in their area.

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) voted against the legislation and released a statement calling it “an anti-gun propaganda program designed to dramatize and inflate the reported number of ‘active shooter’ incidents in an effort to expand support for unconstitutional gun control measures.”

“Sensationalizing violence specifically involving guns while ignoring the crime epidemic intensifying on their watch is a blatant attempt by Democrats to promote their anti-Second Amendment agenda, not the safety of Americans,” Moore said. “There are many reasons for the violence and crime in our society, but none of them will be solved by duplicative layers of federal bureaucracy. Washington Democrats must commit to honoring our Constitution and restoring the rule of law before our nation can hope to tackle these issues.”

The congressman added, “This bill failed to pass the House on suspension last month and creates new and unnecessary authorities within the Department of Justice with the mandate to create new alert systems for active shooter scenarios. This new alert system that solely focuses on attacks with firearms versus all violent attacks is unnecessary and redundant due to existing state and local alert systems.”

Moore is a member of the Second Amendment Caucus and previously voted against the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” the gun control legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden last month.

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” Weekdays 9-11am on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

The U.S. Senate Thursday evening passed a bipartisan gun control bill by a 65-33 vote.

The bill’s passage in the upper chamber follows a string of mass shootings around the nation, which prompted calls from the national left to implement stricter gun control measures.

One of the bill’s most controversial provisions is the authorization of $750 million in federal grants to incentivize states to implement red flag laws, which allow courts to grant law enforcement with the authority to seize a citizen’s firearms if that individual is deemed to be a threat to others or themselves.

Many conservatives contend that red flag laws allow governmental authorities to sidestep individuals’ traditional rights to due process.

The “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” which was led by U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), gained the support of 14 additional Republicans.

U.S. Sens. Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) both voted against the legislation.

In a statement explaining his opposition to the bill, Shelby suggested that the Second Amendment’s language was unambiguous in enshrining the citizenry’s right to bear arms.

“I firmly believe that this legislation raises serious constitutional concerns and opens the door to the erosion of the Second Amendment to our Constitution,” proclaimed Shelby. “The Second Amendment states that ‘the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.’ This does not leave room for question. It is evident that our Founding Fathers counted the right to keep and bear arms as a fundamental right of all law-abiding Americans. The Second Amendment is not a suggestion.”

Shelby noted that taking aim at the Second Amendment would not serve to reduce crime and advised that measures should be taken to address the “underlying issues” of violence.

“As such, I do not believe that restrictive gun laws are the answer to curbing violent crime in America. Let’s enforce the laws already on the books, combat the culture of violence in society, and address the underlying issues that may contribute to such heinous acts,” continued the senator. “We must also ensure that individuals who commit crimes with firearms are held accountable for their actions and receive swift and certain punishment commensurate with their crimes.

Shelby concluded, “Congress should focus on solutions that truly tackle violent crime, address mental health, and ensure school safety without infringing on the constitutional freedoms of law-abiding gun owners. This bill does not do that. For that reason, I intend to vote against the ‘Bipartisan Safer Communities Act’ and will continue to oppose efforts that infringe upon the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.”

According to Tuberville, the Senate approved-bill “fell short” in upholding Second Amendment protections.

“I have always been a proud supporter of our Second Amendment rights. As the Supreme Court rightly recognized this week, any attempts to interfere with law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights should be subject to a high level of scrutiny,” declared Tuberville. “I carefully considered this bill, and ultimately, I believe it fell short of ensuring protection of our Constitutional second amendment rights.”

Tuberville went on to lament the incorporation of red flag law provisions, as well as the exclusion of measures to harden school infrastructure.

“While I appreciate that the bill includes provisions that focus on mental health, I have serious concerns over how states could implement red flag laws without appropriate due process protections, and I am disappointed with the lack of direct funding to safeguard our schools,” added Alabama’s junior senator. “I would have welcomed the opportunity to thoughtfully address these concerns, but we were given about an hour to review the bill before we were asked to take the first vote, and there was no amendment process to improve the bill once it was on the floor. For these reasons, I could not support this bill.”

The “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives, where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has pledged to hold a swift vote on the bill.

President Joe Biden publicly expressed his support of the bill and is expected to sign it into law once Congress grants it final approval.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

Thursday, the Senate advanced the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” which the Senate is expected to hold a final vote on by the end of the week.

The Senate approved moving the bill forward with a vote of 65 to 34, with 15 Republicans supporting it. If the final bill passes, it will go to the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.

The bill includes provisions that would promote “red flag” laws in the states, increase funding for mental health facilities and school safety, and expand background checks for people under 21.

During a press conference Thursday, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) joined his colleagues in the Second Amendment caucus blasting the bill as infringing on Americans’ right to bear arms.

Senator Cornyn said this gun control bill is “a step in the right direction.” So what is the NEXT step?!

This bill weakens ALL constitutional rights and is a gift to the rabid anti-gun Left. Republicans would be foolish to play into their hands. #2AShallNotBeInfringed pic.twitter.com/lYKliQ3NjV

— Rep. Barry Moore (@RepBarryMoore) June 23, 2022


“I really think this is a hill we’re going to have to die on as Republicans,” Moore said. “The Second Amendment, to me, protects all other rights. As we start talking about these slippery slopes, y’all remember just a few years ago it was just two weeks to flatten the curve. It concerns me going forward exactly how this thing is going to play out.”

The congressman argued that this bill would just move the nation toward even more gun control.

“Senator Cornyn said himself that this is ‘a step in the right direction.’ My question to the senators is: what’s the next step? It’s never enough,” he argued. “I think [Rep. Dan Bishop] hit on this. They use tragedies in our society to come after our rights. Without the Second Amendment, your rights are not protected as press, there are so many rights that we cannot protect.”

Moore emphasized that it was not the federal government’s role to restrict the gun rights of law-abiding Americans.

“Thomas Jefferson said, ‘When people fear the government, there is tyranny, but when the government fears the people, there is liberty,'” Moore advised. “We have a responsibility. My job, these members’ jobs, are to protect liberty. It’s not to play politics, it is to protect your liberty. You make the decision to protect your home, to arm yourself. That’s your right. It’s guaranteed in the constitution, and it’s our right to fight for that. And so I’m just honored to be a part of this process.”

The Alabama congressman said when it came to these violent tragedies, Congress needed to focus on the real issue, which wasn’t guns.

“This is not a gun issue in America,” he argued “I went to school at Enterprise High School. We had guns in every rack there. It’s a heart issue in America. When you tell young people, and we protest the right to kill a baby in the mother’s womb and sell the body parts, and then go wonder why there’s no value in life in young Americans, it’s because we’re teaching that to our children. And because of that, they do not value life, and therefore we have unmitigated murders in gun free zones.”

This gun control package isn’t compromise – its capitulation. Our 2nd Amendment rights shall not be infringed! https://t.co/kvb9zxs5Tl

— Rep. Barry Moore (@RepBarryMoore) June 22, 2022

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” Weekdays 9-11am on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

7. Civil War cannon painted for Pride Month

6. VP Harris really wants to focus on the ‘root cause’

5. Shelby is concerned about possible National Guard strain

4. Strong is challenging claim that Wardynski ended CRT

3. Democrats want to ‘redefine the Second Amendment’

2. House Democrats pass a gun control bill that has no chance in the U.S. Senate

1. Supreme Court justice targeted by a would-be assassin in his home

U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks’ (R-Huntsville) bid for the U.S. Senate has notched the endorsement of BamaCarry, which bills itself as the state’s only “no compromise” Second Amendment advocacy group.

In a letter sent to the group’s membership, BamaCarry asserted that Brooks was the only candidate in the runoff election that held a “true history” of defending the Second Amendment.

“As you know, it is imperative, now more than ever, to support candidates with an unwavering dedication to protecting the Second Amendment,” wrote the organization. “As we analyzed the record of the two candidates in the runoff, there is only one candidate with a true history of defending and fighting for our Second Amendment rights: Mo Brooks. Therefore, we formally endorse Congressman Brooks for U.S. Senate.”

The gun rights group made mention of the endorsements Brooks holds from other Second Amendment advocacy organizations.

“In addition to our support and that of the NRA, Mo has also been backed by the National Association for Gun Rights and the Gun Owners of America,” the group noted. “He received A+ ratings from Gun Owners of America and the NRA every single year he’s been in Congress. For Mo, his proven track record of defending the Second Amendment cannot be questioned.”

BamaCarry then took aim at Brooks’ opponent, former Business Council of Alabama head Katie Britt, over her criticism of the congressman’s vote against a version of the National Defense Authorization Act in September 2021.

“While Katie Britt claims to support our right to keep and bear arms, her record and public statements paint a very different picture,” the group claimed. “Katie Britt attacked Mo Brooks for voting against Nancy Pelosi’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Britt claims Mo voted against our military, when in reality he voted to kill multiple far-left provisions that Socialists democrats added INCLUDING red flag laws that allow the government to confiscate a person’s guns without due process. Katie Britt said she would have voted for this version of the bill that included this obvious infringement of our Second Amendment rights.”

Britt’s campaign in April released a policy memo outlining the candidate’s position on the Second Amendment, along with her legislative intentions regarding the issue should she become Alabama’s next U.S. senator.

“In a GOP primary, every politician will claim that they will defend our right to keep and bear arms, Mo Brooks actually has a record that has proven he will,” the group proclaimed.

BamaCarry concluded the letter by stating that Brooks was “the real deal” and advised that the congressman was “the only choice for the U.S. Senate.”

The primary runoff election will take place on June 21.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

The killing of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, has outraged Americans. The malfeasance of law enforcement during the tragedy is highly disturbing and demands reforms.

Police officers reportedly waited outside the classroom for over an hour. The commanding officer evaluated the situation as a “barricaded shooter,” not an “active shooter” calling for immediate entry.

A Border Patrol SWAT team finally entered and killed the assailant. Quicker action might have saved some victims. Economics counsels that there are no solutions in this world, only tradeoffs.

Ideally no one would ever try to kill children at a school. Unfortunately, evil exists. We can only manage, not eliminate, school shooting risk.

Let’s start with the frequency of school shootings. One frequently cited database tracks all school gun violence, like students getting in an argument and shots being fired. Such events differ enormously from Columbine, Newton or Uvalde.

Bradley Thompson of Clemson University has compiled a list I will use. While school shootings seemingly happen all the time, Professor Thompson counts 14 events and 109 deaths since 1997.

Can we reduce this further, perhaps with better anger management? Over the past 25 years, over 100 million people have gone through high school (not all graduated). 16 individuals perpetrated the 14 shootings, or one out of 6 million students. The overwhelming majority of young people learn to control their anger.

Hardening schools is another possibility. America has 100,000 public and 30,000 private schools, so only one in 10,000 schools has experienced a mass shooting in 25 years. Many hardened schools will never face an armed intrusion. A teacher reportedly propped open the door the Robb Elementary shooter entered.

Locked doors will inconvenience teachers and students thousands of times for every intruder stopped. The infrequency of shootings challenges the human capacity for diligence.

The Uvalde assailant, like many school shooters, had no criminal record and no reported mental health incidents. Most shooters are not juvenile delinquents. I doubt psychologists can identify the one in six million in advance.

America has over 400 million guns, far more per capita than any other nation. Given all these guns, other countries’ gun control laws will work differently here. Even if we repeal the Second Amendment, Americans wishing to do evil will likely obtain guns. We likely must react to these rare events.

Experts stress the need for an immediate response by the first officers on the scene. Unfortunately, the dawdling at Uvalde was not unprecedented. The delay was 47 minutes at Columbine in 1997 and 58 minutes at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida in 2018.

After earlier shootings, experts recommended putting police officers in schools. An officer offers a chance to stop an incident before it starts. Not perfect protection: an officer will not always prevail against a well-armed assailant. Yet delaying a perpetrator might enable locking school doors and arrival of other officers.

Taxpayers paid for officers for schools. But at Douglas High the officer stayed safely in the school parking lot and Robb Elementary’s officer failed to engage the assailant. Taxpayers, I think, expected police officers to try to stop school shooters.

Can we expect better? Writing at Reason.com, J.D. Tuccile thinks not because, “officers are regular people working a unionized public-sector job” and have “no stake in the situation and families waiting at home.”

I think most police officers take their responsibility to “protect and serve” very seriously. Ours is a government of the people. Police officers ultimately work for us.

Detailed rules of engagement should be crafted by experts and not voters, but we set the broad parameters. If we want school shooters engaged immediately, we can and should insist on this.

We need a timely armed response to school shooters. Security guards at banks routinely engage bank robbers. If America’s police forces will not step up, we could cut police budgets and hire private security for our schools.

Daniel Sutter is the Charles G. Koch Professor of Economics with the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University and host of Econversations on TrojanVision. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Troy University.

Perhaps the most high-profile non-officeholder to intervene in Alabama’s 2022 U.S. Senate race is legendary musician and Second Amendment activist Ted Nugent.

The iconic rock star last year endorsed then-senatorial hopeful Jessica Taylor, who would later drop out of the race and lend her support to the candidacy of U.S. Army veteran Mike Durant. In late February, Nugent followed Taylor in officially endorsing Durant.

While making his rounds Monday in Alabama’s media circuit touting Durant a day before Republican voters head to the polls, Nugent spoke to Yellowhammer News regarding his involvement in the heated three-way primary contest.

For Alabama’s Republican-dominated electorate, the Second Amendment is an issue of emphasis each cycle for candidates seeking election to statewide office. The issue has been prevalent in this year’s race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa).

According to Nugent, gun rights have always been at the “tip of the culture war sphere” for the national left, which he said consisted of “braindead dopers” such as President Joe Biden and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas).

Given that the Second Amendment is Nugent’s signature issue, Yellowhammer News inquired with the celebrity rocker regarding the criticism Durant received from his opponents when a 2011 U.S. Army War College speech surfaced of the former “Black Hawk Down” aviator touching on a foreign citizenry’s relationship with an occupying military.

Speaking in the context of his service in the Somali Civil War, Durant said, “The first thing that needs to be done is to disarm the population,” later adding if that could be accomplished “in some of our U.S. cities, that would be a pretty good step towards law and order.”

Pointing to Durant’s military service, Nugent dismissed the assertion that the candidate could waver on his public position regarding gun rights.

“Mike Durant watched his brothers die for his constitutional oath,” Nugent told Yellowhammer News. “That includes the right to keep and bear arms. Here’s the blinding orb of reality: If Ted Nugent endorses someone, I promise they’re not soft on the Second Amendment. I think it’s a safe assumption.”

The “Cat Scratch Fever” artist went on to express his belief that Durant was “an absolutist” on the Second Amendment.

“So my point is I love Alabama, I love freedom, I love America, and all the pillars of unique experimentation of self-government that this constitutional republic represents,” proclaimed Nugent. “And I believe Mike Durant’s the right guy. And believe me, if he ever hinted on infringement I’d come down so f***ing hard on him. I don’t believe he’s infringeable, I believe he’s an absolutist like me. Just like the First Amendment, it’s good on planet Earth without paperwork, without licenses and without permits.”

Nugent told Yellowhammer News that Taylor’s endorsement of Durant was an indication that the first-time candidate “was the right guy.”

“You know, I vetted Jessica so intently,” he advised. “She would have been great. So when she passed the baton on to Mike, I knew he was the right guy because she wouldn’t have passed it to him. She would not. So that is the conclusion of my genuine and sincere vetting.”

When asked about his plans to travel to Alabama in the event Durant is a contender in the likely runoff election, Nugent said he does not “get out much” but noted his excitement in returning to the Yellowhammer State for an upcoming nationwide tour to promote his new album, “Detroit Muscle.”

Fans will have the opportunity to see the “Motor City Madman” in concert at Mobile’s Soul Kitchen Music Hall on July 31 and Huntsville’s Mars Music Hall on August 2.

Durant will face U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) and former Business Council of Alabama head Katie Britt in the May 24 GOP primary election. Should no candidate earn more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will take place June 21, 2022.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

As voters inch closer to making a final decision as to which candidate they will cast their ballot in favor of in the upcoming U.S. Senate GOP primary election, two of the race’s leading contenders are taking direct aim at one another in competing television spots.

Until this point, only super PACs supporting the race’s top three candidates have launched attack ads against opposing GOP rivals. That trend ended last week as former Business Council of Alabama head Katie Britt took a shot at U.S. Army veteran Mike Durant over his past comments relating to the Second Amendment.

Britt’s ad slams Durant for comments he made during a 2011 speech at the U.S. Army War College regarding a foreign citizenry’s relationship with an occupying military. The speech detailed actions the U.S. military took while Durant was deployed in East Africa during the Somali Civil War.

“I’m Katie Britt, and I will always defend the Second Amendment. New Hampshire liberal Mike Durant won’t,” the ad features Britt saying before transitioning to a clip from Durant’s speech.

“The first thing that needs to be done is to disarm the population,” Durant says. “If we could do that in some of our U.S. cities, that would be a pretty good step towards law and order.”

Britt concludes, “Mr. Durant, our Second Amendment is what ensures law and order — protecting us from government tyranny and criminals. I approve this message because I’ll stand up to the gun-grabbers in D.C. And Mike Durant — he’ll join them.”

Watch:

While drawing heat from his opponents over the comments, Durant has maintained that his words were “mischaracterized” and defended his Second Amendment stance by saying that he “shot more rounds every month [in Somalia] than most people shoot in their lives.”

Shortly after Britt’s ad dropped, the Durant campaign went on the offensive in a TV spot of its own.

The ad hits Britt over a contribution that was made to a super PAC supporting her candidacy by a donor that has made public statements decrying the Alabama Legislature’s 2019 passage of a pro-life bill.

Durant’s ad also takes issue with Britt over a University of Alabama student government association (SGA) resolution, which passed during her tenure as SGA president, enabling morning-after pills to become available to students at the university’s health center.

“The ads for Katie Britt are paid for by a big pro-abortion donor. Why? Because Katie Britt has a pro-abortion record,” says the ad’s voice-over. “She let abortion pills be supplied to teenagers, supported pro-abortion candidates for office and refused to say if she’d stop Biden’s election which resulted in a pro-abortion court justice. Our next senator could cement a pro-life majority for generations. Innocent babies deserve better than Katie Britt.”

Watch:

In a recent response to the claims, Britt told 1819 News that she “had no control of” the resolution as SGA president and asserted that she was “100% pro-life,” something she has maintained throughout the entirety of the race. Additionally, the question was raised as to whether Britt held the authority as SGA head to issue a presidential veto.

Britt and Durant will face U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) in the Republican primary May 24, 2022. Should no candidate earn a plurality of the vote, a runoff election will occur June 21, 2022.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

Former State Sen. Paul Sanford, Republican candidate for Alabama’s open fifth congressional district seat, has received the highest National Rifle Association (NRA) rating in the crowded GOP primary field.

The NRA-Political Victory Fund (PVF) rates candidates on their support of the Second Amendment by assessing public statements, voting records and answers to the gun rights group’s candidate questionnaire.

Sanford, as a former two-term state lawmaker, is the only congressional hopeful in the six-candidate Republican primary field that holds a legislative voting record.

In a statement reacting to the rating, Sanford spoke to his record of supporting Second Amendment rights as a member of the legislature’s upper chamber.

“As a lifelong supporter and staunch defender of our 2nd Amendment rights, I am thrilled to receive the highest NRA rating out of the entire field of candidates in my race,” said Sanford. “I am proud of the Alabama values I was raised upon, and the efforts I led in Montgomery to protect our rights and liberties while serving in the State Senate.”

As a state lawmaker, Sanford cosponsored legislation in support of constitutional carry and concealed carry in vehicles. The former state senator received a 92% NRA rating in 2010 and a 93% rating in 2014, when his reelection bid earned an endorsement from the pro-Second Amendment association.

Sanford concluded, “This further reaffirms our campaign’s consistent message that I have a proven record, and voters can always count on me to continue to protect and preserve our conservative values as their next Congressman. Our campaign’s momentum has been undeniable since the moment we announced, and I am excited to see more voters turn to a proven record versus first-time promises.”

The primary election will take place May 24, 2022. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will be held June 21, 2022.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

Jeremy Oden, incumbent Republican serving Place 1 of the Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC), announced the launch of an advertising campaign in his bid for reelection.

Oden’s campaign rolled out a 60-second radio ad and a 30-second video ad highlighting the candidate’s support for the Second Amendment and former President Donald Trump’s energy policies.

“Hi, y’all. I’m Jeremy Oden,” he says in the spot. “I’m a Christian conservative, pro-Trump Republican, and I’ll always fight to defend our God-given, Second Amendment rights and American energy independence. It’s time to put a stop to Joe Biden and the radical left. With your help, I’ll shoot down Biden’s Green New Deal and keep the left from tacking up our energy prices. Let’s make America strong again. I’m Jeremy Oden, Public Service Commission Place 1.”

Watch:

In a statement announcing his ad campaign, Oden detailed his opposition to President Joe Biden’s “radical America Last energy agenda.”

“I was proud to fight Obama’s original Green New Deal agenda, I was proud to support President Trump’s policies of America First energy dominance, and I’m proud to be combatting Joe Biden’s radical America Last energy agenda right now,” stated Oden. “As your Alabama Public Service Commissioner, I will always shoot down the far-left’s attempts to put their socialist political whims over the interests of Alabama families, small businesses, and farmers.”

He concluded, “No one will work harder to defend our God-given rights, liberties, and values, and I’ll never do anything but shoot straight. Together, we’ll ensure hardworking Alabamians continue to have affordable, reliable energy for generations to come.”

Oden was an honorary Alabama chair of Trump’s 2020 bid for reelection. The PSC commissioner was appointed by the Trump administration in 2020 to serve on the National Coal Council.

The primary election will be held May 24, 2022.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL