Alabama state Rep. Shane Stringer (R-Citronelle) was a Mobile County Sheriff’s Office captain until his support for constitutional carry allegedly led Sheriff Sam Cochran to relieve him of his law enforcement position.
AL.com reported that Cochran’s spokeswoman, Lori Myles, said, “Sheriff Sam Cochran made the decisions Wednesday, May 12, because of different political views held by his administration.”
Myles indicated “Stringer’s sponsorship of legislation supportive of constitutional carry ran afoul of the Sheriff’s views on the issue,” the outlet noted.
WALA pointed out that Stringer claims Cochran told him his termination was tied to constitutional carry legislation he is currently sponsoring.
Stringer’s bill, House Bill 618, would mean law-abiding Alabama residents would no longer need to get a permit from the state in order to exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Stringer made clear that losing his position as Mobile County Sheriff’s Office captain will in no way cause him to lessen his push for constitutional carry:
As a state legislator, I swore an oath to God that I would support the U.S. Constitution, and this legislation does just that. And whether or not I am employed by the Mobile Sheriff’s Office, my heart and soul will always belong to the mission of enforcing the law and to my fellow officers who seek to protect the men, women, and children of Alabama.
He added, “The U.S. Constitution does not say you have a right to keep and bear arms as long as you pay what amounts to a gun tax in the form of permit fees. It says you have the right to keep and carry firearms, period.”
FM Talk 106.5’s Jeff Poor noted Stringer’s constitutional carry legislation “has 11 other co-sponsors, including State Rep. Proncey Robertson (R-Mount Hope), who served as an officer in the Decatur Police Department.”