A Pelham man was convicted Friday on charges dating back to last November for openly carrying a loaded gun to a polling site during the 2014 general election.
59 year old Robert Kennedy, Jr. was convicted on misdemeanor charges of voting obstruction and unlawful possession of a firearm. Kennedy is a founding member of BamaCarry, an advocacy group defending gun rights in the state.
One charge alleges Kennedy violated a state law banning the obstruction or intimidation of others’ voting rights. Kennedy’s defense attorney Joe Hubbard says there was no evidence presented that Kennedy tried to influence anyone’s vote or prevented anyone from casting a ballot.
Kennedy was also convicted for violating a law stating that weapons “must be kept from ordinary observation” in certain buildings and facilities which include polling stations. A sign prohibiting firearms was clearly posted on the building’s front door.
Kennedy was sentenced to 30 days in jail as well as probation. He plans to appeal the conviction.
The Alabama Legislature’s second special session will begin tomorrow.
Governor Robert Bentley called lawmakers back to Montgomery after they failed to come up with a solution for a $200 million shortfall in the General Fund budget.
Huntsville Republican Representative Phil Williams believes that’s because the State House and Senate spent a lot of time talking about other things, rather than the General Fund.
“We did some great reforms, don’t get me wrong. We’ve brought expanded school choice to Alabama. We brought options to parents whose kids are trapped in failing schools but we dodged the hard work and I think we collectively put our heads in the sand.”
Bentley proposes raising $300 million in new taxes to resolve the budget issue rather than make cuts to state agencies, but many lawmakers, including Williams, are opposed to any new taxes.
Law enforcement will be out in full force throughout the state as the Labor Day weekend comes to a close.
Police officers will continue patrolling more than normal to ensure safety on Alabama’s roads.
Jeffrey Rice, Sr. is the captain of the north precinct at the Huntsville Police Department. He tells us that drivers can expect to be stopped over the holiday weekend.
“They can expect more checkpoints and more saturation patrols over the Labor Day holiday. The Huntsville Police takes traffic safety very seriously and we will be out aggressively enforcing traffic laws during this period of time.”
Drivers should dim their lights and have their license and valid registration handy when approaching the roadblocks.
The Alabama Revenue Department has devised a way for online sellers to charge and pay state sales taxes, if they want.
The agency is starting a voluntary program that allows Internet-based sellers to collect and report an 8 percent tax on all sales made to Alabama buyers.
The state is providing an incentive by letting the online businesses keep 2 percent of the tax revenue they collect.
The effort is expected to increase tax revenues from online sales. In the past, online transactions haven’t been subject to the usual tax payments mandated by the state. Buyers have been supposed to figure out the proper sales tax payments on their own.
The program should provide some additional state revenue as lawmakers attempt to plug a $200 million shortfall in the state's General Fund budget.