The law, which goes into effect immediately, targets devices that turn semiautomatic handguns into makeshift machine guns.

The devices convert semi-automatic guns to fire like a fully automatic weapon. A bipartisan coalition pushed the Alabama legislation after several mass shootings last year, including the deaths of four people outside a Birmingham nightclub in September.

Alabama has banned gun conversion devices that have the ability to convert semi-automatic pistols into fully automatic weapons. The conversion devices, sometimes referred to as Glock switches, are already banned under federal law,