When is a gun giveaway illegal in Alabama? Let's VERIFY

ATHENS, Ala. — A FOX54 Verify viewer sent us an email with concerns over a raffle being held to support a local high school athletics team. Top prize in this drawing was supposed to be a DiamondBack AR-15 rifle. In the wake of another school shooting claiming lives recently, this viewer was concerned about guns being offered by a school or any group representing a school.

This particular raffle was canceled before the drawing was due. According to Limestone County Schools Athletic Director Russ Cleveland, "Raffles are against district rules because they're considered gambling by the school board. Outside groups are allowed to [hold raffles], but the school administration must approve."

That response did not clear away our viewer's pressing concern:

"Are there ANY restrictions on who can purchase a raffle ticket for this drawing?" The viewer asks, adding, "What prevents a teenager, or a felon, or a mentally unstable individual or any host of other people who should not have ready access and ownership of this kind of weapon from winning it in a drawing?"

Let's VERIFY these questions.

Our sources for all topics surrounding guns and school giveaways include the Alabama Attorney General's Office, and the state's current laws regarding gun ownership, sales and transfers.

QUESTION #1: Are raffles legal in the State of Alabama?

THE ANSWER:

Under the most commonly accepted definition of the term, in which money is exchanged for a chance to win a prize, State law determines a raffle to be gambling along the same lines as a lottery. They are currently illegal in Alabama.

WHAT WE FOUND: 

The State of Alabama Criminal Code prohibits any type of lottery, raffle, or gambling. The definition utilizes IRS Notice 1340's description of those types of games as when "people pay for the chance to win." Raffles in which payment is required are considered a reportable offense and those running the raffles could be subject to prosecution.

The workaround many organizations use to avoid breaking this law is to not demand payment for the raffle tickets. Suggested donations may be permitted, but as long as payment is not required, the raffle may be legal under state law.

Alabama lawmakers came closer than ever in the 2024 legislative session to pass a lottery bill. If lotteries become legal in Alabama, it would still be up to individual school boards to decide whether to allow raffles.

QUESTION #2: Are guns allowed to be offered as prizes at school-sponsored or school-benefiting functions?

THE ANSWER:

Yes, in most cases.

Schools are given the latitude to accept or reject items donated by businesses or organizations as prizes or gifts. Athletic booster clubs in North Alabama have offered firearms as prizes in past with no repercussions. There is currently no Alabama law preventing such items from being offered as long as they adhere to current gift statutes.

QUESTION #3: How are guns safeguarded against falling into the hands of winners of giveaways in Alabama?

The answer is, it depends. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms has a long list of ways in which firearm raffles can be handled, depending on who is hosting the raffle, how the firearm is acquired, where the winner lives, and more.

However, there is no law on Alabama's books mandating this process be completed. Theoretically, the winner can take their gun home as their name is called, providing they are the legal age, which in Alabama is 19, and legally allowed to possess a gun in Alabama.

Should a winning ticketholder be under the legal age to possess the prize, it would be at the contest holder's discretion to decide to award the prize to another ticketholder, or to accept a legal guardian as the prizewinner for legal purposes.