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Sen. Gerald Allen, right, sponsor of the bill to eliminate the requirement for pistol permits, talks to Sen. Del Marsh in this file photo.

(Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

The Alabama Senate, divided sharply along party lines, has passed a bill eliminating the requirement for a permit from a county sheriff to carry a concealed handgun.

The Senate passed the bill by Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, after voting to cut off debate.

Democrats in the Senate opposed the bill and sought to amend it.

The bill passed by a vote of 25-8, with all eight Democrats in the Senate voting against it. It moves to the House of Representatives.

Allen said people should not have to buy a pistol permit to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

"It's unthinkable that you have to pay a fee for a constitutional right. That's really the heart of the whole issue," Allen said.

Some law enforcement officials had argued against the bill in committee, saying it would take away an important enforcement tool.

People would still have the option of buying pistol permits, Allen noted, which he said would be important for those who want to carry in other states that recognize Alabama's concealed carry law.

Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, said the bill would not promote public safety but would turn the state into the "wild, wild West."

The bill was one of a set of controversial bills on the Senate calendar today that Democrats generally opposed.

Sen. Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, said Republicans were trying to polish their public image after the resignation of Gov. Robert Bentley, suspension of Chief Justice Roy Moore and ethics conviction of House Speaker Mike Hubbard.

"This is called rebuilding a brand day," Ross said.

Ross said the bills, including Allen's bill and another to add nitrogen hypoxia as a new method of execution, would not address the state's real concerns, like education, health care and the burden of the tax on groceries.

Ross chided the Republicans for repeatedly using cloture petitions to cut off debate today, saying they should be used rarely in a deliberative body.

"Now it seems like it's popcorn," Ross said. "They come out of the microwave."

Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh said today's bills were a reinforcement of well established Republican positions.

I would say it's not a rebrand.

"I guess you could say it secures the brands of Republicans," Marsh said. "Republicans have always stood for religious rights, gun rights, rights of the people. And I think that's what today was about."