Georgia has a statewide preemption law, but a small minority of Georgia cities and counties insist on violating it by enacting local ordinances regulating the carry and possession of firearms. GCO has been alone on the front lines of enforcing the state preemption statute against recalcitrant local governments. As a result, on December 4, 2007, a unanimous panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals issued a concise opinion holding that the preemption statute means exactly what it says in “plain language.”
[W]e are mindful of the “golden rule” of statutory construction, which requires that we follow the literal language of the statute unless doing so “produces contradiction, absurdity or such an inconvenience as to insure that the legislature meant something else.” And the plain language of the statute expressly precludes a county from regulating “in any manner [the]. . . carrying . . . of firearms.” Under these circumstances, the preemption is express, and the trial court erred in concluding otherwise.
(Emphasis added). You may read the entire Court of Appeals opinion here. GCO wishes to thank attorney John Monroe for his diligent efforts on behalf of GCO and the right to bear arms in Georgia.