Chatham County Judge strikes down Savannah gun ordinance
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A recent ruling by the Recorder’s Court of Chatham County has declared the City of Savannah’s firearm storage ordinance void and unenforceable.
The ordinance was passed by Savannah City Council in April 2024 and requires gun owners to lock up their weapons when storing them in a car.
The court found the ordinance to be preempted by state law and in violation of the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.
You can read the whole ruling for yourself in full below:
Defendant Clayton Papp was cited under the ordinance and subsequently filed a general demurrer, arguing that the ordinance was invalid on two primary grounds:
- State Law Preemption: The ordinance regulated firearm possession in an area expressly preempted by O.C.G.A. § 16-11-173.
- Constitutional Violations: The ordinance violated the Second and Fourteenth Amendments, as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen (2022).
The City of Savannah argued that the ordinance was a legitimate exercise of its police powers, intended to address the growing problem of firearm thefts from unattended vehicles and was consistent with the State’s “Parking-Lot Law,” O.C.G.A. § 16-11-135(b).
The Recorder’s Court sided with the defendant, and the case was dismissed.
Chief Judge Brian H. H. Harman, Jr. underscored that while concerns over firearm thefts are valid, “Good intentions, however, do not immunize legislation from constitutional scrutiny. Public safety is important, vital even, but we are not safer as a People when the law is subverted and our rights are violated, no matter how well-intentioned the purpose.”
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