Alabama Amendment 5, "Stand Your Ground" Rights in Franklin County Churches Measure (2020)

Alabama Amendment 5
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Constitutional rights and Firearms
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature
List of Alabama measuresAlabama Amendment 1Alabama Amendment 2Alabama Amendment 3Alabama Amendment 4Alabama Amendment 5Alabama Amendment 6Submit

Alabama Amendment 5, the "Stand Your Ground" Rights in Franklin County Churches Measure, was on the ballot in Alabama as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending the Alabama Constitution to state that individuals have a right to stand their ground and may use deadly force in self-defense or in defense of another person in churches within Franklin county.

A "no" vote opposed amending the Alabama Constitution to state that individuals have a right to stand their ground and may use deadly force in self-defense or in defense of another person in churches within Franklin county.

Amendment 5 applied only to Franklin county and required a majority vote of approval from voters statewide as well as a majority of voters in Franklin county to become a part of the constitution. An identical measure, Amendment 6, applied to Lauderdale county.

Election results

Alabama Amendment 5
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,213,544	71.61%
No		481,088	28.39%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did Amendment 5 do?

See also: Text of measure

Amendment 5 was designed to specifically provide that individuals may use deadly force in self-defense or in defense of another person on church premises. The amendment was designed to apply only to churches in Franklin county.

The amendment provided that a person should be presumed justified in using deadly force if the person reasonably believes that another person is about to use or is using criminal physical force against a person authorized to be on church premises.

The amendment provided that a person who is justified in using deadly force and (1) is not engaged in any unlawful activity and (2) is in a place where they have a right to be has no duty to retreat and has a right to stand their ground. The amendment provided that a person justified in using deadly force would be immune from criminal prosecution and civil action stemming from the use of such force unless the use of force is determined to be unlawful or if the use of force recklessly or negligently injures another person.

What are "Stand Your Ground" laws and what states had them as of 2020?

See also: Stand Your Ground laws

"Stand Your Ground" laws provide that individuals have no duty to retreat from an attacker and have a right to stand their ground and use deadly force if the individual is in a place where they are legally allowed to be, such as in their home. As of 2020, 25 states including Alabama had laws providing that an individual has no duty to retreat from an attacker and 10 of those states, including Alabama, had a law providing that a person may stand their ground. Alabama and 23 additional states provide civil immunity for those using deadly force in self-defense in certain cases.

Did Alabama have a "Stand Your Ground" law going into the election?

See also: "Stand Your Ground" law in Alabama

Under Alabama's "Stand Your Ground" law that was passed in 2006, individuals have no duty to retreat and have a right to stand their ground if (1) they are not engaged in unlawful activities and (2) they are in a place where they have the right to be. Under state law, an individual may use deadly force and is legally presumed to be justified in using deadly force if the individual reasonably believes that another person is using or is about to use unlawful deadly physical force or that the person is committing other certain crimes.

Why was this measure on the statewide ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

This measure applied only to Franklin county and required a majority vote of approval from voters statewide as well as a majority of voters in Franklin county to become a part of the constitution.

Prior to the passage of Amendment 3 of 2016, local constitutional amendments were voted on by the entire state of Alabama. Amendment 3 of 2016 changed the requirements so that, by a unanimous vote of the legislature, a constitutional amendment could be declared as having local application and would be voted on solely by the county or jurisdiction.

Since the local application resolution for Amendment 5 had three no votes, the measure needed to appear on the statewide ballot as well as on the ballot in Franklin county.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Relating to Franklin County, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to provide that a person is not liable for using deadly physical force in self-defense or in the defense of another person on the premises of a church under certain conditions.

”

Ballot summary

The plain language summary provided by the state's Fair Ballot Commission was as follows:

“ Alabama’s “Stand Your Ground” law allows a person to legally use physical force against another person under certain conditions. The law does not require the person to retreat before using physical force. If a majority of voters in Alabama vote “yes” on Amendment 5, and if, in addition, a majority of voters in Franklin County vote “yes” on Amendment 5, the state constitution would contain a special “Stand Your Ground” law that applies to churches in Franklin County only. If a majority of voters in Alabama vote “no” on Amendment 5, or, if a majority of voters in Franklin County vote “no” on Amendment 5, the state constitution would not contain a special “Stand Your Ground” law that applies to churches in Franklin County. There is no cost for Amendment 5. The Constitutional authority for passage of Amendment 5 is set forth in accordance with Sections 284, 285, and 287 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901. These sections outline the method a constitutional amendment may be put to the people of the State for a vote. ”

Constitutional changes

See also: Alabama Constitution

The measure added the following amendment to the Alabama Constitution:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

(a) This amendment shall apply only in Franklin County.

(b) The following definitions are applicable to this amendment:

(1) CHURCH. A bona fide duly constituted religious society or ecclesiastical body of any sect, order, or denomination, or any congregation thereof.

(2) DEADLY PHYSICAL FORCE. Force which, under the circumstances in which it is used, is readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury.

(3) FORCE. Physical action or threat against another, including confinement.

(4) PREMISES. The term includes any building, as defined in this section, and any real property.

(c) A person may use deadly physical force, and is legally presumed to be justified in using deadly physical force in self-defense or the defense of another person, if the person reasonably believes that another person is using or about to use physical force against an employee, volunteer, member of a church, or any other person authorized to be on the premises of the church when the church is open or closed to the public while committing or attempting to commit a crime involving death, serious physical injury, robbery in the first degree, or kidnapping in the first degree.

(d) A person who is justified under subsection (c) in using deadly physical force, who is not engaged in an unlawful activity, and is in any place where he or she has the right to be, has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground.

(e) A person who uses force, including deadly physical force, as justified and permitted in this amendment is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of such force, unless the force was determined to be unlawful or in violation of Section 13A-3-21, Code of Alabama 1975.

(f)(1) Prior to the commencement of a trial in a case in which a defense is claimed under this amendment, the court having jurisdiction over the case, upon motion of the defendant, shall conduct a pretrial hearing to determine whether deadly force, used by the defendant was justified or whether it was unlawful under this amendment. During any pretrial hearing to determine immunity, the defendant must show by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she is immune from criminal prosecution.

(2) If, after a pretrial hearing under subdivision (1), the court concludes that the defendant has proved by a preponderance of the evidence that force, including deadly force, was justified, the court shall enter an order finding the defendant immune from criminal prosecution and dismissing the criminal charges. (3) If the defendant does not meet his or her burden of proving immunity at the pretrial hearing, he or she may continue to pursue the defense of self-defense or defense of another person at trial. Once the issue of self-defense or defense of another person has been raised by the defendant, the state continues to bear the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt all of the elements of the charged conduct.

(f) A law enforcement agency may use standard procedures for investigating the use of force described in subsection (b), but the agency may not arrest the person for using force unless it determines that there is probable cause that the force used was unlawful.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2020

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 23, and the FRE is 11. The word count for the ballot title is 45, and the estimated reading time is 12 seconds.

Support

The measure was sponsored by Republican representative Jamie Kiel.

Supporters

Officials

• Alabama State Representative Lynn Greer (R)
• Alabama State Representative Jamie Kiel (R)

Arguments

• State Rep. and measure sponsor Jamie Kiel (R): "For several years, Lynn Greer has proposed legislation statewide that would allow some additional protection for church security teams in the case of having to use some kind of bodily harm against someone who might be trying to injure somebody or kill somebody in a church — and specifically, with an active shooter or something along those lines. So, we haven’t been able to get that passed for one reason or another through the House. He presented it again this year, so it still didn’t get passed. So, I presented local legislation that would allow Franklin County to do the same thing, except it would be local legislation. It would give our folks the ability to vote locally on a proposal that would give extra protection for our church security forces. ... You know, all the bill does is give some immunity to a church security force where normally a stand-your-ground law would protect you or those immediately around you."
• State Rep. Lynn Greer (R): The Alabama Political Reporter reported that Rep. Lynn Greer (R) "said that someone could walk into a church and shoot twenty people and someone who had their gun with them would have to have the shooter point his gun at them before they could shoot under current law. He said that they were teaching people to shout at the shooter to get his attention in order to be able to shoot them in self defense. Greer said that a thief who wanted to make some money could walk into church and do well stealing the collection plate."

Opposition

Opponents

Organizations

• Alabama Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

Arguments

• State Rep. Christopher England (D): England said that the state's Stand Your Ground law already applies to churches and that the bill was pandering in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Florida. England said, "This bill doesn’t give you any additional protection you enjoy in Alabama. ... We can be as irresponsible and reckless in the message we send, even when 17 people were killed in a school not too far from us."
• State Rep. A.J. McCampbell (D): “If [a person] happen[s] to start shooting in a church because of a Stand Your Ground law ... they could hit someone that’s unintended. That family is going to be just as devastated as if an intruder hit them."
• Anne Leader, volunteer with the Alabama Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America: "these amendments would allow any person to use deadly force when someone in a religious group perceives almost any kind of physical threat — even in cases where the use of deadly force is clearly not necessary. Alabama’s Stand Your Ground law creates an environment in which people shoot first and ask questions later. These amendments make this dangerous mindset worse, as they could easily be exploited to give violent criminals a way to use deadly force without facing any consequences. [The measures] threaten to raise our state’s rate of gun death and will make Alabama less safe for all its citizens and visitors."
• The Alabama Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (part of Everytown for Gun Safety): "...these [measures] would allow members of a religious group to justify the use of deadly force even when they are not actually on the grounds of a place of worship. Alabama already has one of the most expansive Stand Your Ground laws in the country. Stand Your Ground laws are inherently dangerous — at least 30 people are killed each month nationwide as a result of Stand Your Ground laws. These laws also have a disproportionate impact on communities of color. These extreme additions to Alabama’s Stand Your Ground law would encourage people to shoot first and ask questions later and would put communities of color at greater risk."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Alabama ballot measures

Total campaign contributions:
Support:	$0.00
Opposition:	$0.00

Ballotpedia did not identify committees registered to support or oppose the amendment. If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Stand Your Ground laws

"Stand Your Ground" laws provide that individuals have no duty to retreat from an attacker and have a right to stand their ground and use deadly force if the individual is in a place where they are legally allowed to be, such as in their home. The first "Stand Your Ground" law was enacted in Florida in 2005. As of 2020, 25 states including Alabama had laws providing that an individual has no duty to retreat from an attacker and 10 of those states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina) had a law with language providing that a person may stand their ground. Not including Alabama, 23 states provide civil immunity for those using deadly force in self-defense in certain cases.

"Stand Your Ground" law in Alabama

Section 13A-3-23 of the Alabama Code provides that individuals have no duty to retreat and have a right to stand their ground if (1) they are not engaged in unlawful activities and (2) they are in a place where they have the right to be. Under state law, an individual may use deadly force and is legally presumed to be justified in using deadly force if the individual reasonably believes that another person is:

• using or about to use unlawful deadly physical force;
• using or about to use physical force against an occupant of a residence while committing or attempting to commit a burglary;
• committing or about to commit a kidnapping, assault, burglary, or rape;
• using or about to use physical force against an owner, employee, or other person authorized to be on business property when the business is closed to the public while committing or attempting to commit a crime involving death and/or serious physical injury, robbery, kidnapping, or rape; or
• is in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering a property.

The law provides that individuals using deadly force is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of the deadly force unless the use of the deadly force is found to be unlawful.

House Bill 49 of 2019

House Bill 49 of 2019, sponsored by Republican Representative Lynn Greer, called the Alabama Church Protection Act, was designed to specify that the state's stand your ground law applied in churches. Greer had also proposed similar versions of the bill in 2017 and 2018. The 2019 bill was not passed in either chamber of the Alabama State Legislature.

Local amendments in the Alabama Constitution

Prior to the passage of Amendment 3 of 2016, local constitutional amendments were voted on by the entire state of Alabama, unless a three-fifths (60%) supermajority vote of the legislature and a unanimous vote of a constitutional amendment commission determined that the amendment strictly affected or applied to only one county or jurisdiction. Thus, statewide electors often voted on issues that primarily, but not entirely, affected other counties or jurisdictions. After the passage of Amendment 3, local constitutional amendments appear before only the voters in that particular jurisdiction. Amendments to the Alabama Constitution are tacked on at the end and arranged by numbers, not counties.

Amendment 3 provided that, once constitutional amendments receive the votes needed to appear on the ballot, the legislature must also vote on a resolution of local application. If the resolution of local application is passed unanimously, with zero no votes, the measure will be placed on the ballot only in the relevant county or jurisdiction. If one or more members of the state legislature vote no on the resolution of local application, the measure must be placed on the statewide ballot and must receive majority approval from voters statewide and within the relevant county.

Referred amendments on the ballot

From 1996 through 2018, the state legislature referred 95 constitutional amendments to the ballot. All but six of the amendments appeared on the ballot during even-numbered years. From 1998 to 2018, the number of measures on the statewide ballot during even-numbered years ranged from four to 15. Of the 89 measures that appeared on the ballot during even-numbered years, voters approved 81% (72 of 89) of the amendments and rejected the other 19% (17 of 89).

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1998-2018 (even-numbered years)
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Annual average	Annual median	Annual minimum	Annual maximum
89	72	81%	17	19%	8	6	4	15

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Alabama Constitution

In Alabama, a constitutional amendment must be passed by a three-fifths (60%) supermajority vote in each house of the state legislature during one legislative session.

This amendment was introduced as House Bill 536 by Rep. Jamie Kiel (R). The measure was approved in the House on May 8, 2019, in a vote of 65-0 with 39 members absent or not voting. The measure was approved in the Senate on May 15, 2020, in a vote of 27-0 with eight members absent or not voting.

Because the measure applies only to a single county, the legislature also voted on a resolution of local application. If the resolution was approved unanimously, the measure would have only been placed on the ballot for voters in Franklin county. Since the resolution passed with more than one no vote, the measure needed to appear on the statewide ballot as well as on the ballot in Franklin county. The votes on the resolution to declare local application were 47-1 (with 56 members absent or not voting) in the House and 21-2 (with 12 members absent) in the Senate.

Vote in the Alabama House of Representatives May 8, 2019
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 63  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	65	0	39
Total percent	62.5%	0.00%	37.5%
Democrat	8	0	20
Republican	57	0	19

Vote in the Alabama State Senate May 15, 2019
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 21  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	27	0	8
Total percent	77.14%	0.00%	22.86%
Democrat	5	0	3
Republican	22	0	5

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Alabama

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Alabama.

How to cast a vote in Alabama

The information below covers regular voting policies in the state. Information may have not applied to the election on November 3, 2020, because of temporary changes in response to coronavirus. Click here to read about changes made for the 2020 elections. Poll times In Alabama, polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. According to state law, "All polling places in areas operating on eastern time shall open and close under this section pursuant to eastern time except the county commissions in Chambers County and Lee County may by resolution provide for any polling place to be excluded from this sentence and to be open according to central time." An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration requirements Check your voter registration status here. Alabama requires that an applicant be a citizen of the United States who resides in Alabama. A voter must be at least 18 years old on or before Election Day. A citizen cannot have been barred from registering due to a felony conviction and cannot have been declared mentally incompetent by a court. Voters cannot register during the 14-day period preceding an election. According to the Alabama Secretary of State's website: “ You may download the State of Alabama Postcard Voter Registration Application from this site. The form can be printed on your printer, filled out, and then mailed into your local voter registration officials. Click here for more information. You may also request a postcard voter registration from this office by e-mail. Click here to request a voter registration form. Voter registration is also available from your local County Board of Registrars. Click here to get the address and phone number for the board of registrars office in your county. You may also obtain voter registration services at the following state and local government offices and agencies: Driver's licensing office County and select municipal public libraries Department of Human Resources WIC Program, Department of Public Health Medicaid Agency Department of Rehabilitation Services The postcard voter registration form is also available at: Public 4-year universities Select private 4-year universities Driver's licensing office County and select municipal public libraries Department of Human Resources WIC Program, Department of Public Health Medicaid Agency Department of Rehabilitation Services ” Automatic registration Alabama does not practice automatic voter registration. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Alabama has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration Alabama does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirements To register to vote in Alabama, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States An Alabama state law, passed in 2011, requires people to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. However, as of June 2025, the law had not been implemented. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot require proof of citizenship with federal registration forms. That meant states would need to create a separate registration system for state elections in order to require proof of citizenship. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R) said the following: "That’s an election administration nightmare ... You’d have to have two sets of poll books, one for federal elections and one for state elections, and that just doesn’t make any sense to me." An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury. All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registration The Alabama Secretary of State's Voter View website allows residents to check their voter registration status online. Voter ID requirements

See also

2020 measures

• 2020 ballot measures
• Firearms on the ballot

Alabama

• Alabama ballot measures
• Alabama ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• LegiScan: HB 536 overview
• LegiScan: HB 536 full text