Rising star constitutional lawyer Timothy Sandefur likes to say government confiscates our rights and then sells them back to us.  This view certainly explains the behind-the-scenes approach of the Alabama Sheriffs' Association is taking in fighting proposed legislation, S.B. 24, that removes the need for a concealed carry permit.  In public, the sheriffs' body says officers would be endangered.  But AL.com reporter Cameron Smith got hold of an email from the association that suggests that their opposition to the bill on "officer safety" grounds is not the real motivation.

A recent internal email suggests that the Sheriffs Association isn't necessarily negotiating in good faith. An email from Timmons called on sheriffs to contact their legislators "if you value your permit fund." He specifically warned against a compromise that would clearly benefit Alabama's gun owners. "The National Rifle Association WILL return next time the Legislature meets to bring back Jabo [Waggoner's] 'any county bill' and will push for uniform – one cost – statewide permit fee...if any fee at all!"

If the Sheriffs Association's opposition was primarily an officer safety issue, the big "push" email didn't make it a direct focal point at all.

Second only to taxation, regulation is the most profitable activity of the modern state.  Bureaucrats empower themselves and extract resources for themselves out of it.  The concealed carry permit political debate in Alabama shows how this factor may be decisive yet go unmentioned in the public discussion.

Hat tip: Instapundit