Alabama
Permanent URL for this collectionhttps://dspace.firearmsresearchcenter.org/id/frc0001/2963
Alabama
This jurisdictional hub aggregates FRC holdings related to Alabama. It supports research on the state’s firearms history, technology, law, policy, and culture from the territorial period to the present.
- Legal sources: statutes and session laws, administrative code, attorney general opinions, appellate decisions, and select municipal ordinances.
- Historical materials: newspapers, photographs, maps, catalogs, company records, and oral histories tied to Alabama people and places.
- Research outputs: technical reports, academic studies, training manuals, and curated datasets relevant to the state.
Cite the Firearms Research Center and the item’s handle/DOI when using materials. Rights and licensing vary by item.
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Item type:Item, 1841 Ala. Laws 148-49(1841)§ 4: Prohibited the concealed carrying of "a bowie knife, or knife or instrument of the like kind or description, by whatever name called, dirk or any other deadly weapon, pistol or any species of firearms, or air gun," unless the person is threatened with an attack or is traveling or "setting out on a journey." Punished by a fine of $50-100.Item type:Item, 1867 Ala. Code 169(1867)§ 434, pt. 10: Tax of $2 on pistols or revolvers in the possession of private persons, excluding dealers, and a tax of $3 on "all bowie knives, or knives of the like description." Non-payment was punishable by seizure and, unless payment was made within 10 days with a penalty of an additional 50%, subject to sale by public auction.Item type:Item, Item type:Item, 1876 Ala. Code 929–30(1871)§ 4406: Prohibited hunting wild hogs with a dog and gun without giving notice to "at least three freeholders in the neighborhood." Violators fined not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars. § 4407: Prohibited hunting deer by fire and with a gun. Violators fined not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars.Item type:Item, 1862 Ala. Laws 8(Ala. Statutes, 1862)Wartime tax of 5% on net profits of various businesses, including establishments that produced guns, pistols, pikes, and Bowie knives.Item type:Item, 1876 Ala. Laws 202(1875)§ 494, pt. 15: Imposed $50 occupational tax on dealers of pistols, Bowie knives, and dirk knives.Item type:Item, 1876 Ala. Code 914(1876)Prohibited assault and battery of another with a cowhide, stick, or whip while in possession of a pistol or other deadly weapon with the intent to intimidate another to prevent the person from defending himself. Violators imprisoned not less than two nor more than twenty years.Item type:Item, Alexander McKinstry, The Code of Ordinances of the City of Mobile, with the Charter, and an Appendix 118 (1859)(1859)§ 124; Prohibited the discharge of any gun, pistol, fowling-piece, or fire-arm.Item type:Item, 1868 Ala. Laws 333(1868)§ 112, pt. 28: Required licenses for dealers in firearms. Licenses were priced at twenty dollars.Item type:Item, 1874-75 Ala. Laws 6(1875)Reduced tax rate to 0.75% of the value of any pistols, guns, dirks, and Bowie knives.Item type:Item, Item type:Item, J. M. Falkner, The Code of Ordinances of the City Council of Montgomery 225 (1888)(1879)Prohibited carrying of a concealed Bowie knife, pistol, air gun, slungshot, brass knuckles, or other deadly or dangerous weapon. Punishable by a fine of $1-100.Item type:Item, 1876 Ala. Code 929-30(1871)Prohibited hunting wild hogs with a dog and gun without giving notice to "at least three freeholders in the neighborhood." Violators fined not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars. Prohibited fire-hunting with a gun.Item type:Item, Item type:Item, 1878-79 Ala. Laws 437(1878)Ch. 314, § 14: Authorized Uniontown to license dealers of pistols, Bowie knives, and dirk knives.Item type:Item, John W.A. Sanford, The Code of the City of Montgomery, Prepared in Pursuance of an Order of the City Council of Montgomery 7-9 (1861)(1861)Granted the mayor and aldermen the power and authority to assess, levy, and collect annual taxes on pistol galleries.Item type:Item, 1876 Ala. Code 989(1876)§ 4809: Prohibited the concealed carrying of any Bowie knife, or any other knife of like kind or description, pistol, air gun, slungshot, brass knuckles, or other deadly or dangerous weapon, unless the person was threatened with, or had good reason to apprehend, an attack, or " while traveling, or setting out on a journey." Punishable by fine of $50-300 and imprisonment of not more than 6 months.Item type:Item, 1852 Ala. Code 588(1852)Prohibited the concealed carry of a pistol, or any other firearms, while not being threatened or having good reason to believe attack is imminent. Also prohibited the concealed carry of knives and handguns. Violators fined not less than fifty, but no more than three hundred dollars.Item type:Item, 1848 Ala. Laws 121-22(1848)Prohibited any person or persons from receiving, keeping, or storing in any building within three miles of the Mobile River or Bay, gun-powder, gun-cotton, or other explosive material in larger quantities than one hundred pounds.Item type:Item, 1861 Ala. Laws 214-15(1861)Appropriated $6000 to purchase Bowie knives and Bowie knife pikes for the 48th regiment of the Alabama militia at an inflated price of $3 per Bowie knife due to Bowie knife restrictions. The average value of a Bowie knife was fifty cents in other states.Item type:Item, 1874-75 Ala. Laws 41(1874)§ 102, pt. 27: Imposed $25 occupational tax on dealers of pistols, Bowie knives, and dirk knives.Item type:Item, A. H. Jackson & James W. Lapsley, Code of the City of Selma 96 (1862)(1862)Prohibition on concealed carry without legitimate reason.Item type:Item, A. H. Jackson & James W. Lapsley, Code of the City of Selma 91 (1862)(1862)Enhanced sentencing for assault with a firearm.Item type:Item, 1866 Ala. Pen. Code 63(1866)§ 204: Prohibited selling, giving, or lending any pistol, Bowie-knife, or other knife of like kind to a minor under eighteen years of age. Violators fined not less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars.Item type:Item, Clement Comer Clay, Digest of the Laws of Alabama 413 (1843)(1843)Prohibited fighting or discharging a firearm or air-gun in any city, town, or militia muster, or public assembly. Violators fined not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned not exceeding six months, or both at the discretion of the judge.Item type:Item, 1856 Ala. Laws 17(1856)That anyone who shall sell or give or lend, to any male minor, a bowie knife, or knife or instrument of the like kind or description, by whatever name called, or air gun or pistol, shall, on conviction be fined not less than three hundred, nor more than one thousand dollars.Item type:Item, Clement Comer Clay, Digest of the Laws of Alabama 416 (1843)(1843)§ 31. Prohibited assault and battery of another with a cowhide, stick, or whip while in possession of a pistol or other deadly weapon with the intent to intimidate another to prevent the person from defending himself. Violators imprisoned not less than two nor more than twenty years.Item type:Item, 1876 Ala. Code 882-83(1877)These sections make it illegal to carry certain concealed weapons without a valid reason (such as self-defense concerns or traveling). Concealing weapons like knives, pistols, firearms, or air guns can result in fines and up to six months of jail or hard labor. Carrying concealed weapons like brass knuckles or slung-shots carries similar but generally lighter penalties. However, possessing a disguised weapon like a rifle or shotgun cane is treated much more severely, with significantly higher fines and a mandatory prison sentence of at least two years.Item type:Item, 1865-66 Ala. Laws 7(1866)§ 2, pt. 11: Imposed an annual tax of two dollars on each person who is not a regular dealer but in possession of pistols and revolvers. Imposed an annual tax of three dollars on each person who is not a regular dealer but in possession of bowie knives or knives of like description.Item type:Item, 1852 Ala. Code 588-89(1841)Prohibited the concealed carrying of " a bowie knife, or knife or instrument of the like kind or description, by whatever name called, dirk or any other deadly weapon, pistol or any species of firearms, or air gun," unless the person is threatened with an attack or is traveling or " setting out on a journey." Punished by a fine of $50-100.Item type:Item, John W.A. Sanford, The Code of the City of Montgomery, Prepared in Pursuance of an Order of the City Council of Montgomery 50 (1861)(1861)Prohibited the discharge of any gun, pistol, or any kind of fire-arms within city limits. Violators fined five dollars.