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.
A federal judge in Macon dismissed GCO’s legal challenge against the state’s ban on carrying firearms in “places of worship.” The court ruled that the law does not burden religion because it does not interfere with anyone’s sincerely-held religious beliefs, despite the fact that one plaintiff testified that “I believe [Jesus' teachings] require me to obtain, keep, and carry a firearm wherever I happen to be [including] when I am attending regular worship services.” The court ruled the law does not infringe on the Second Amendment because the government has an important interest in protecting worshipers and banning them from carrying firearms is a significant means of doing so. The order may be viewed here.
GCO is pleased to release another innovative report, “Guns Good Bans Bad”.  The report examines gun control’s impact on crime rates and its financial cost to society.
The report examines the impact on crime rates of five examples where self-defense rights were increased (spoiler: crime went down) and five examples where gun control was imposed (spoiler: crime went up).   Applying the latest research data on the total cost of crime, the report calculates the annual financial impact of gun control (spoiler: gun control costs society a lot of money).
One of the examples is Representative Tim Bearden’s HB89, which was signed into law by Governor Sonny Perdue in 2008.   The 8% decrease of crime in the year following HB89′s enactment (2009) has saved Georgia $676M/year.  In the two and half years since its enactment, HB89 has benefited Georgia by over $1.6B.
The report is the work of Mike Menkus, GCO Member, Founding Member of GCO, and former GCO Board Member and Treasurer.
Michael Menkus is a licensed Professional Engineer in Georgia. He earned a BS degree in Geophysical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines and an MBA from Emory University. His engineering experience includes oil and gas production, construction of petroleum marketing facilities, environmental cleanup of hazardous waste and petroleum spills, air and groundwater flow modeling, and design of data and voice telecommunication networks. His economic analysis background mineral engineering project evaluation, capital investment analysis, and pricing of products and services.
He is a member of GeorgiaCarry.Org and WisconsinCarry.Org. Michael was on the Board of GeorgiaCarry.Org and its first Treasurer from the organization’s founding to 2010. Mike’s other interests include stock market investing, strength training, and practical shooting competitions (USPSA and Steel Challenge)
You can find this new and exciting report here.
His prior research effort was documenting the racist origins of Georgia’s gun laws. You can read that report here.
The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners approved an amendment to Chapter 54 of the Forsyth County Code, entitled “Parks and Recreation”, at the board’s meeting Thursday, January 6, 2011. The amendment of Chapter 54 repeals the prohibition against carrying or possession of certain weapons designed for the purpose of offense and defense while at a public gathering. The amendment aligns the county’s code with state law. Public hearings on this matter were held December 2, 2010 and January 6, 2011.
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