Alabama bill combating gun violence signed into law
Thomasville crash kills 2, injures 4, police chief says
SB 119 brings harsher penalties for people who shoot into cars and buildings, convicts who have guns, and Aniah's Law now applies to more violent offenses.
Mobile District Attorney Keith Blackwood told News 5 that the bill provides more opportunities to combat gun violence and violent offenders throughout Mobile.
'It will allow us to expand the class of people that are prohibited from owning firearms,' Blackwood said.
'And we're talking about convicted felons,' he said. 'We're talking about, you know, people with certain drug offenses, people with prior violent offenses.'
Most importantly, Blackwood said, there are new provisions for Aniah's Law offenses.
'That one really allows us to more immediately respond to public safety issues and make sure that we're able to keep people that commit violent offenses in jail where they belong, to keep our community safe,' Blackwood said.
Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch is also a big supporter of the gun violence prevention bill.
'I think they did a really great job of considering a lot of different situations and scenarios,' Burch said. 'And keeping, even though they're criminals, keeping their civil rights in mind.'
Burch said even though this bill is a start, he hopes to see harsher penalties for other gun crimes in the future.
'Someone who will shoot recklessly into a crowd, that to me is just as bad as shooting into a house because, you know, you've got a number of people in there,' Burch said.
'But I think that would be something that needs to be included in that going forward next year,' he said. 'But again, it was a great bill that was passed and will certainly go a long way.'
SB 119 goes into effect Oct. 1 except for the Aniah's Law expansion.
Prichard shooting under investigation
The expansion requires a change to the constitutional amendment that was passed in 2022.
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