GCO has filed a petition for writ of mandamus in the Superior Court of Dekalb County against Dekalb Police Chief William O’Brien, over the department’s consistent several-weeks delays in fingerprinting GWL applicants. GCO has been working with the department for over a year, attempting to negotiate a resolution to this issue. The department has failed to respond to GCO’s communications since January. A copy of the complaint may be viewed here.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has announced that it will hear oral arguments in GCO’s church carry case. The case challenges the state law banning carrying firearms in places of worship. The case was dismissed by federal judge C. Ashley Royal, who determined that there is not a second amendment right to carry firearms in church and that the free exercise clause of the first amendment is not implicated by the ban. The state had objected to oral argument, but the court has ordered it over the state’s objection. Argument will take place in Atlanta the first week of October, with a firm date to be announced in early August.

Be prepared to have a FUN day at your range this summer.  Shooting is always fun, but when it is FREE, it ‘s even better:

Bill Stanley will be visiting participating ranges throughout the state from June 1 to July 31, 2011.  On the day GCO is at your range (or one nearby), if you:

Join GCO

Renew your membership

Extend your membership (September expiration forward)

You can shoot for FREE (compliments of your range and GCO)

Bill will be visiting the ranges listed below from June 1 through July 31, 2011.

As an added incentive, anyone who joins, renews, or extends their membership during the June 1 to July 31 time frame will be  automatically entered in a drawing for a Stainless Steel Ruger P95, 9MM semi-automatic pistol. The pistol was donated by GCO Platinum Level Sponsor Stoddard’s in Douglasville.  The P95 has a suggested retail value of $424.

You do not have to sign up, renew, or extend your membership at one of the ranges to be eligible.  Anyone who signs up during that time frame no matter where or how they signed up is automatically entered.  The drawing will be held at the GCO Third Annual Convention and you need not be present to win.  GCO Board Members, Officers and the Executive Director are not eligible for this drawing.

July 30 – Saturday – Hi Caliber Firearms in Holly Springs, GA, from 10 AM to 5 PM.

Today, GCO filed its reply brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in its case challenging the constitutionality of the state ban on carrying firearms in places of worship. The court announced yesterday that it desires to hear oral arguments of the appeal. No date has been set, but it likely will be in the fall. Briefs in the case may be viewed here.

The State of Georgia and other appellees have responded to GCO’s appeal in GCO’s case challenging the state ban on carrying firearms in places of worship. The briefs may be viewed here.

GCO has filed its opening brief in the appeal of the dismissal of its case challenging Georgia’s ban on carrying firearms in places of worship. The brief and other documents in the case may be viewed here.

GCO attorney John Monroe wrote a letter to Paulding County Attorney Jayson Phillips to reconsider his conclusion that Paulding deputies may detain anyone seen carrying a firearm for the sole purpose of determining if they have GWLs. The discussion follows an email from GCO member Robbie Massie, who complained to Phillips when a deputy detained Massie when Massie was riding a bike on the Silver Comet Trail while openly carrying. Phillips told Massie that there is reasonable articulable suspicion to detain an armed citizen for the purpose of checking to see if the citizen has a GWL or is a fugitive from justice. A copy of the letter may be viewed here.

GeorgiaCarry.org is proud to announce this year’s guest speaker for our 3rd Annual Convention August 5 & 6.
Dr. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, a former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives and a recognized public advocate for the Second Amendment and an individual’s right to carry a concealed weapon.

Dr. Hupp is known to many of us for what happened to her on Wednesday, October 16, 1991. Suzanna and her parents were having lunch at Luby’s Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, when a man drove his truck into the restaurant and opened fire on the patrons. Suzanna instinctively reached into her purse for her handgun, but realized it was in her vehicle, as a new law was passed in Texas banning the carry of a concealed weapon. Suzanna escaped out of a broken window, but 23 unarmed others, including Suzanna’s mother and father, were killed at the hands of the gunman.
Suzanna states “I’m not mad at the guy that killed 23 people that day. How can I be mad at a rabid dog? I don’t blame guns. I blame politicians that legislated away my right to carry a gun to protect myself and my family.”
Visit her website at: http://www.suzannahupp.com/
You do not want to miss this year’s GeorgiaCarry.org convention !
When: August 5 & 6, 2011
Where: The Renaissance Waverly Hotel
2450 Galleria Parkway
Atlanta, Georgia 30339 USA
Ticket reservations and the full schedule of events will be announced at a later date.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of GCO’s lawsuit challenging the state residency requirement for weapons carry license applicants. The court said the GCO member, Regis Goyke, is free to bring the case again after he applies for a license. The court’s brief opinion can be found here.

GCO has filed an appeal of the dismissal of its case challenging Georgia’s ban on carrying firearms in places of worship.