HB36 Alabama 2017 Session

Updated Feb 26, 2026

High Interest

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Lynn Greer
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2017
Title: Churches, security program established, authorizing designated members to carry firearms, Alabama Peace Officers' Training Commission to administer training, Alabama Church Protection Act
Summary: HB36 creates the Alabama Church Protection Act, letting churches form armed security programs with trained members and providing immunity for those members on church property.
What This Bill Does
The bill allows a church’s governing body to establish a security program with designated members who may carry firearms to protect the congregation. It requires the Alabama Peace Officers' Training Commission to develop a training curriculum and have local law enforcement agencies administer and certify the training. It provides limited immunity from criminal prosecution and civil liability for members acting within the program’s scope, including pretrial hearings to determine immunity. It also expands self-defense rules on church premises, allowing justified use of physical force, including deadly force, under defined conditions.

Who It Affects
Designated members of church protection programs who would be armed, trained, and afforded immunity when acting within the program’s scope.
Church leadership, congregants, and others on church premises who may be affected by the new security measures, expanded self-defense rules, and potential changes in liability and safety expectations.

Key Provisions
Allows the governing body of a church to establish a security program with designated members authorized to carry firearms to protect the congregation.
Requires the Alabama Peace Officers' Training Commission to develop and disseminate a training curriculum for church protection program members; local law enforcement agencies would administer and certify the training.
Provides limited immunity from criminal prosecution and civil liability for members acting within the scope of the church protection program, with pretrial hearings to determine immunity and specified exceptions where immunity does not apply.
Expands self-defense provisions on church premises to allow justified use of physical force, including deadly force, under defined conditions, and defines related terms (e.g., church, premises, deadly physical force).
Adds or clarifies definitions and establishes the act’s effective date (first day of the third month after passage).

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.
Subjects: Churches