Please urge your legislators to pass both HB 257 and HB 89!

The Senate passed a version of HB 257 yesterday that includes authority to carry a firearm in restaurants and on mass transit, two decades old Georgia restrictions that interfere with a GCO member’s daily life.

The City of Atlanta has filed its response to GCO’s motion for summary judgment in a case in the Superior Court of Fulton County.  GCO is suing Atlanta and several other Fulton County entities over ordinances banning the carrying of firearms in parks.  In its response, Atlanta claims that its ordinance is a reasonable regulation on the discharge of firearms.  Atlanta also claims that its ordinance is consistent with Georgia’s public gathering law.  A copy of Atlanta’s response may be viewed here.

GCO has settled its lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court against Union City. GCO sued Fulton County and several municipalities in Fulton County that banned carrying firearms in their parks. Union City has repealed its ordinance and agreed to pay GCO its costs in bringing the lawsuit. Defendants remaining in the case are Fulton County and the cities of Atlanta, Roswell, Sandy Springs, and East Point.

Fulton County is considering a new ordinance at its March 19, 2008 meeting.  The ordinance that currently bans guns and violates state preemption law is expected to be changed to:

Section 50-38.  Discharge of Firearms and Possession of Other Weapons Prohibited.
No person shall discharge within any Fulton County park or recreational facility any firearm as defined by O.C.G.A. § 16-11-171, including but not limited to rifles, pistols, shotguns, BB guns, or pellet guns. No person shall use or possess within any Fulton County park or recreational facility any bow and arrow, slingshot, or any other device (other than a firearm as defined above) capable of throwing any projectile of any sort, including the hand throwing of rocks or stones intended to be used as weapons.  This section shall not be operative in any specific area now designated or to be designated in the future as a rifle range, archery range, or any other specific area whose purpose is to allow the activities otherwise prohibited by this section.

GCO will continue to keep you informed of further developments.

GCO has filed a motion for summary judgment in the Superior Court of Fulton County in a case where Fulton County and several municipalities within the county have bans on carrying firearms in their parks.  Relying on clear legal precedent, including GCO’s win at the Court of Appeals in an identical case with Coweta County, GCO urges the court to rule in its favor without the necessity of a trial.  In other developments in the Fulton County case, GCO has filed responses to motions to dismiss the case filed by Roswell and Sandy Springs.  Those motions (to dismiss) will be heard April 4 at 2:30 in the Fulton County Justice Center Tower.  Documents in this case may be viewed here.

A GCO member has settled a long-standing case in federal court against the Carroll County Probate Court.  The first-ever case challenging the request for SSNs from GFL applicants resulted in an earlier settlement with the Georgia Department of Public Safety and a permanent change in the GFL application form (SSNs are no longer requested on the form, even optionally).  In the settlement with the probate judge, Judge Betty B. Cason agreed not to request SSNs at all, represented that she purged all SSNs from her GFL application records, and agreed to pay $52,500 in costs and attorney’s fees.  A copy of the settlement agreement can be viewed here.

A GCO member recently received his renewal GFL after waiting almost 8
years since he applied. The member had been cited for something that,
if still pending as an open case, could render him ineligible for a
GFL. In this instance, however, the member never was prosecuted and
the “case” was “dead docketed” by the municipal court before which the
member was taken. The word “case” is in quotations because the charge
was not something which could be tried in municipal court. The member
merely appeared before the municipal court for warrant and bonding
purposes. Thus, no “case” ever was opened and no indictment,
accusation, or information was obtained. The municipal court instead “dead docketed”
the case. For those who might not be familiar with the term, “dead
docketing” is a device used in Georgia to dispose of a case without
truly disposing of it. Usually done upon the motion of the prosecutor
when the prosecutor does not want to prosecute, when a court places a
case on the “dead docket,” it generally stays there. It only can be
placed on an active docket upon the order of the court. Thus, a dead
docketed case is, for almost all purposes, the same as a dismissed
case. The only difference is that, technically, the court (and not the
prosecutor) has the power to revive a dead docketed case.

In the GCO member’s instance, the municipal court purported to dead
docket a case that had not yet been commenced. The probate court,
however, interpreted the dead docketed case to be one that still could
be reinstated upon the order of the municipal court (even though the statute of
limitations had long since run). Ironically, the probate court agreed
with GCO attorneys that the GFL could be issued if the record of the
case were expunged. The irony is that the “case” does not go away
with expungement of the record. If the case could be revived before
expungement, it could be revived after expungement. The member
applied several years ago to have the record expunged, and the
application was denied. GCO requested reconsideration of the
expungement application, pointing out that the member was statutorily
entitled to an expungement under the circumstances. The reconsidered
application was granted.

The probate court re-ran the member’s background check and, 7 years
and 9 months after the application for a renewal GFL was made, the GFL
was issued.

Congratulations to our most patient member!

The Georgia Department of Public Safety and a GCO member have settled a 2-year old case in federal court regarding social security numbers and employment information being requested of firearms license applicants.  The DPS is responsible for promulgating the forms used by probate courts for applications.  Under the terms of the settlement, DPS will not use or create any forms requesting SSN or employment information.  A copy of the settlement agreement can be viewed here.

The Superior Court of Athens-Clarke County has issued an injunction against Athens-Clarke County, prohibiting the county from enforcing its ban on carrying guns in county parks. The temporary injunction was consented to by the county as it contemplates repeal of its ordinance in light of the Court of Appeals Opinion that a similar ordinance in Coweta County is preempted by state law. Here’s the injunction.

While Athens Clarke County consolidated government fights in court to maintain its ban on peaceable citizens possessing firearms in its parks, a man walking to his car near Bishop park was attacked by four men using a crowbar.