Montgomery, Alabama — An Alabama House committee has advanced legislation that would create a three-day sales tax holiday for firearms and related equipment, adding guns to the list of items temporarily exempt from state taxes.
House Bill 360, sponsored by Rep. Chris Sells (R-Greenville), would establish a “Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday” during the last weekend of August. Eligible items would include firearms, ammunition components, silencers, holsters, gun cases and hearing protection.
The bill cleared the House Ways and Means Education Committee with one dissenting vote from Rep. Barbara Drummond (D-Mobile). Drummond argued that firearms are the leading cause of death among young people and questioned whether offering a tax exemption sends the wrong message amid high rates of gun violence.
Data cited during the debate shows Alabama had one of the highest gun death rates in the nation in 2023. According to the CDC, 1,292 firearm-related deaths were recorded in Alabama that year — more than New York, which has roughly four times Alabama’s population.
Sells countered that many violent crimes involve illegally obtained firearms.
If enacted, the bill would reduce revenue to the Education Trust Fund by an estimated $360,000 and lower county and municipal revenues by about $506,000. The proposal now heads to the full House for consideration.
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