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House Debates Gun Rights Legislation

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By Alabama News Network

Story Created: Feb 12, 2013 at 8:33 PM CDT

Story Updated: Feb 12, 2013 at 8:34 PM CDT

Alabama is one step closer to having what lawmakers say is the strongest gun rights legislation In the nation. Today the house debated a gun rights bill, which passed a preliminary vote.

House Republicans say the Alabama Firearms Protection Act will make sure the state or federal government does not infringe on the right to bear arms.

Rumble and roar filled the State House as the Alabama Firearms Protection Act was debated, and passed in a preliminary BIR vote.

The legislation will require the courts to use strict judicial scrutiny on state laws that infringe on the right to keep and bear arms.

Representative Mike Jones, R-Andalusia, is sponsoring the bill.

"It sends a clear message that we hold this as a very important fundamental right that is worth protecting. That it is worth fighting for," Jones says.

Jones says given the possible U.S. Supreme Court changes and talk of stricter federal gun control laws, he says this amendment will give the state an argument and standing in court. He says this act will be the strongest gun rights legislation in the country.

"I think this will set the precedent for our state," he says.

But Representative Joe Hubbard, D- Montgomery, says the act is nothing but "feel-good legislation."

"We can pass resolutions all day long that says we are strong gun supporters. We can say that we want every grandmother in this state to carry a side arm," he says. "Yeah, we can do that if we want to, but at the end of the day we can't trump federal law."

This legislation is similar to an amendment that Louisiana passed last year.

A final decision wasn't made. Representative Jones moved to carry the bill over. If the amendment passes, Jones says it will be voted on by the people in the November 2014 elections.

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