Section 45-48-231.27

(a)(1) The sheriff shall keep and maintain a permanent record of all abandoned or stolen firearms not subject to disposition by general law. The records shall state the description of the firearm; the serial or other identifying number, if any, of the firearm; and the place where the firearm was recovered. The sheriff shall take reasonable efforts to locate the owner of abandoned or stolen firearms recovered by the sheriff’s office, including by notifying the sheriff’s offices of surrounding counties. (2) For the purposes of this section, the term “firearm” shall have the same meaning as provided in Section 13A-8-1. (b) Unless otherwise provided by law, the sheriff may sell or destroy a firearm if the owner does not claim the firearm within 12 months of the date the sheriff obtained the firearm. (c) The sheriff may sell a firearm only to gun dealers who have a current federal firearm license on the date of the sale. The sheriff shall establish a procedure to notify gun dealers of a sale. A firearm shall be sold to the gun dealer submitting the highest sealed bid. The proceeds of the sale, after deducting and paying all expenses incurred in the recovery, maintenance, and sale of the firearm, shall be paid to the office of the Sheriff of Marshall County. (d) The sheriff may establish a procedure to destroy firearms and may expend necessary funds of the sheriff’s office for that purpose.