Gerald Allen prefiles 3 controversial, conservative bills

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Gerald Allen

Multiple bills have been pre-filed in the Alabama Senate, but few are likely to raise the ire of state Democrats like those proposed by Sen. Gerald Allen, a Tuscaloosa Republican.

The senator has already prefiled three bills before the Legislative session convenes February 2.

Among those is the Fetal Heartbeat Act, SB 9, requiring physicians check for a fetal heartbeat before performing an abortion, and makes it a Class C felony to perform an abortion once a heartbeat has been detected.

Exceptions to the clause are;:

  • The presence of a “lethal anomaly,” which would result in death within three months of birth or before.
  • The possibility that carrying the unborn child to term would result in the death of the mother or cause “substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” in the mother.

No exceptions are made for cases of rape or incest.

Not only will doctors be required to provide “written documentation” of how the heartbeat was monitored, it will require doctors to document in writing the reasons for performing an abortion once a heartbeat is detected.

A heartbeat can usually be detected within six to seven weeks of becoming pregnant.

Also prefiled is the Alabama Heritage Preservation Act, SB13, which would “prohibit the relocation, removal, alteration, renaming, or other disturbance of certain commemorative statues, monuments, memorials, or plaques which are located on public property.”

The bill does call for the exemption of “certain art and artifacts, the Department of Transportation, and local highway departments under certain limited circumstances.”

Further, the bill provides “any entity exercising control of public property on which the object of remembrance is located” with the ability to petition the Alabama Legislative Council for a waiver.

But, by the bill’s design, acquiring a waiver would require the following steps:

  • A resolution by the entity expressing its intent to alter the monument;
  • Advertisement of the resolution in a local newspaper for eight consecutive weeks at the entity’s expense;
  • Signage providing text of the resolution at the monuments site for eight weeks;
  • Two hearings conducted by the entity to receive public input;
  • A petition in writing from the controlling entity stating the reason for seeking alteration and a summary of public input; and
  • Certification by the Alabama Historical Commission and Legislative Council that all requirements have been met

Any entity which is found in violation of this bill would be fined $100,000 to be deposited into the General Fund.

Finally, SB14 authorizes “certain persons” to carry a pistol without a license on “property under his or her control, in his or her vehicle, in his or her place of abode, in his or her fixed place of business, and on the property of another or a vehicle owned by another, with consent.”

Further, the bill says that “carrying a firearm does not, in and of itself, constitute disorderly conduct.”

The bill provides for law enforcement agencies to still be able to lawfully detain or question those thought to be in violation of the law and deny permits to citizens with mental illnesses and makes it illegal for anyone under 18 to possess a pistol on his or her person or in his or her vehicle.

Multiple attempts to contact the senator for comment were unsuccessful.

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