According to an article this week in the Johns Creek Herald, the city of Johns Creek has agreed to comply with state preemption law and repeal the gun ban from its parks and recreation ordinance. Due to assurances GCO recieved prior to filing suit, Johns Creek was not included in GCO’s recent Fulton County lawsuit. “‘We told [GCO] the dates we would be able to get it in front of council, so I guess he believed that we would follow through with what we said we would do, which is what we’re doing,’ said City Attorney Bill Riley.” The amendment has already had its first reading before the council, and it is expected to be approved at the September 10 meeting.
The story does have one rather drastic factual error by the journalists, Caron Cooper and Jason Wright. It states that the city’s “prohibition is directly in conflict with Georgia law that allows anyone to carry guns into parks.” (emphasis added). No, our intrepid reporters, state law criminalizes the carry of a firearms by anybody, anywhere, without a firearms license. A Georgia firearms license is issued only to applicants with clean criminal records and then only after intensive state and federal background checks, fingerprinting, and a finding of “good moral character” by the county probate judge. Excluded from eligibility are all felons, some misdemeanants (including violent misdemeanors and domestic violence convictions), anybody with any misdemeanor drug conviction (no matter how long ago), those who have received in patient alcohol or mental health treatment within the past 5 years, and those who are in the country illegally. Please see O.C.G.A. 16-11-129(b).
