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.

Click here to view the amendment.

Great News!!  Law abiding citizens no longer have to worry about being disarmed in the Atlanta Airport.

The City of Atlanta Legal Department has informed the Atlanta Mayor and Atlanta Airport General Manager that persons with valid GWL’s can now carry in the non sterile areas of the airport.  The Atlanta legal department determined after studying SB308 that it did not prohibit carrying firearms at the airport.

Channel 11 did the exclusive story here…

GeorgiaCarry.Org has filed a reply brief in support of its motion for summary judgment in its lawsuit seeking to have Georgia’s ban on carrying firearms in places of worship ruled unconstitutional. The motion should now be submitted to the district judge for a ruling. The brief and other documents in the case can be viewed here.

GCO has filed an amicus curiae brief in support of a man charged with carrying a firearm to a public gathering. The charge stems from an incident in 2008 when the man drove into the parking lot of a city park in Macon. He was stopped by police upon entering the parking lot, ostensibly for playing loud music in his car. Police saw a rifle on the front seat of the man’s car and immediately arrested him. There is no allegation in the case that any events were taking place in the park that might cause the park to be considered a public gathering. Even if there were, however, there is no indication that the man was attending any such event. A copy of GCO’s brief may be viewed here.

GCO has endorsed candidates for the General Assembly members for the upcoming election.  We endorsed candidates for the primary election, some of whom lost in their bid to become the candidate for the General Election on November 2, 2010.  Those lists have been revised and updated.  The Endorsement List for the House may be found here and the Endorsement List for the Senate may be found here.  Please check your district to determine who GCO endorsed if you are not already aware.

GCO still stands firmly behind all of our previous endorsements which include Nathan Deal for Governor and Casey Cagle for Lt. Governor.  Both have outstanding records on second amendment issues.

Nathan Deal’s 17 year record in the House of Representatives includes many pro-Liberty, pro-gun votes.    Highlights include:

1994 – Voted  AGAINST Clinton’s Assault Weapons Ban

1996 – HR125 – Voted to REPEAL Clinton’s Assault Weapon Ban,

1999 – HR2122 – Voted AGAINST mandatory background checks for private sales at gun shows

2005 – Voted TO PROTECT gun manufacturers from anti-gun lawyers And, many more too numerous to mention.

Nathan Deal explained his pro-Liberty, pro-self defense beliefs and record as:

the right to bear arms is critical to our identity as a free people and to our ability to protect our families. I have been proud to stand up for gun owners in all of my years of public service. I will continue to do so as governor of Georgia.

Casey Cagle brought both HB89 and SB308 to the floor for senate votes in the last two General Assembly sessions.  Passage of both bills would not have been possible had he not done so.

GCO has expanded our endorsement to include Supreme Court Justice David Nahmias and Appeals Court Judge Stan Gunter as well as added House candidates Paulette Braddock in District 19 and Valerie Clark in District 104..

The contact information for each candidate is contained on the Endorsement Lists as well as hotlinks to Nathan Deal, Lt. Governor Casey Cage, Justice David Nahmias and Judge Stan Gunter.

As you will see from the very few changes on the endorsement list, GCO candidates have fared very well thus far.  If they continue to do as well as they have we will have a friendly atmosphere in which to lobby for change in the next two years.

We need to help these candidates get elected / reelected.  They can certainly use your help in their campaigns as there are only 12 days left in this election cycle, barring a runoff.

The GCO Board of Directors has elected GCO Life Member and Statewide Recruiting Coordinator, Tim Parker to the Board by a unanimous vote.

Tim joined GCO in August of 2007 and became a Life Member of GCO in July of 2008. Tim has continually been involved with GCO by volunteering at gun shows and assisting in setting up events. In November of 2009, Tim was named the Statewide Recruiting Coordinator and has been a big part of the standardization of GCO’s gun show presence throughout the state. Due to his efforts, the recruiting tables across Georgia have the same appearance regardless of the locale.

Tim played a large role in assisting our Events Coordinator in organizing GCO’s First Annual Convention. He was responsible for organizing GCO’s Second Annual Convention as well.

Tim operates a family business in Kennesaw. He and his lovely wife Manya have two lovely young daughters and live in Kennesaw. Tim’s wife, Manya was also responsible for the food services at the conventions as well.

Tim is very deserving of this appointment. Please take the time to congratulate and welcome Tim to the board.

GCO has filed a motion for summary judgment in its church carry case against the State of Georgia. GCO filed the case in the Superior Court of Upson County, but the defendants removed the case to federal district court in Macon. The judge in the case, Chief Judge C. Ashley Royal, has indicated he intends to rule on the case quickly and gave the parties 30 days to file briefs raising all issues they intended to raise in the case. GCO’s case rests on the theory that it is unconstitutional to ban carrying guns in churches, especially when guns are allowed almost everywhere else in the state.

GCO filed a motion for summary judgment. The State of Georgia and Governor Sonny Perdue filed motions to dismiss. Upson County and its manager, Kyle Hood, also filed motions to dismiss. The latter motions consisted of a “copy and paste” from the State motion.

Documents in the case may be viewed here.