Despite Atlanta’s Parks Director filing a sworn affidavit saying the Atlanta web site no longer says that guns are banned in parks, Atlanta’s web site still says guns are banned in parks.

GCO filed two more briefs in its Fulton County Superior Court case against Atlanta over Atlanta’s parks carry ban, including one exposing Atlanta’s false claim that it has changed its web site.  No doubt Atlanta will rush to fix its faux pas, so GCO has preserved it, complete with date/time stamp, for the court to see.  The briefs may be viewed here.

In responding to GCO’s second motion for summary judgment in its lawsuit to end Atlanta’s regulation of carrying firearms, Atlanta has asserted that the case is moot.  Atlanta claims that it no longer regulates carrying firearms in parks.  It does, however, regulate carrying firearms on all airport property.  Atlanta’s brief may be viewed here.

In GCO’s Fulton County Superior Court lawsuit against the City of Atlanta over Atlanta’s ordinance banning the carrying of firearms in parks, GCO has filed a second motion for summary judgment against Atlanta.  GCO prevailed on its first motion in May 2008, when the court ordered Atlanta not to enforce the ordinance.  When the court then terminated the case, GCO appealed, and the Court of Appeals of Georgia determined that the case should not have been ended.  Now that the case has been revived in the superior court, GCO has filed a motion for a permanent injunction against Atlanta, and an injunction requiring Atlanta to change its signs and web site (and other public communications) to stop implying to the public that firearms are not allowed in parks.  GCO also asks the court to find that Atlanta violated GCO members’ civil rights by depriving them of a portion of the value of their GFLs without due process.  The documents in the case may be viewed here.

The Court of Appeals of Georgia has reinstated GCO’s case against the City of Atlanta over Atlanta’s illegal ordinance banning firearms in parks.  The Superior Court of Fulton County had ruled the ordinance illegal and enjoined its enforcement, terminating the case.  Because GCO had other claims pending against Atlanta, however, the Court of Appeals ruled that the Superior Court could not have ended the case.  The appellate court ordered the Fulton County Clerk of Courts to remove a case termination form from the file, thus allowing GCO to continue its other claims against Atlanta.  In the same order, the Court of Appeals affirmed the Superior Court’s order that Roswell’s and Sandy Springs’ modified ordinances depend wholly on the state public gatherings law and are not separately violatable.  Thus, a person cannot be charged under either cities’ revised ordinance.  The order may be viewed here.

GCO has filed its reply brief in its appeal of a Fulton County Superior Court’s judgment in a case against the cities of Atlanta, Roswell, and Sandy Springs.  The appeal, originally filed in the Supreme Court, was transferred to the Court of Appeals when the Supreme Court determined that the case was not primarily one of equity.  The Southeastern Legal Foundation also has filed an amicus curiae brief in support of GCO.  All the briefs in the case my be viewed here.

GCO has filed its opening brief in the Supreme Court of Georgia in an appeal of the orders of the Superior Court of Fulton County regarding GCO’s lawsuit against Fulton County municipalities for banning carrying firearms in parks.  State law prohibits cities from regulating the carrying of firearms “in any manner.”   In the orders, the Superior Court dismissed GCO’s case against Roswell and Sandy Springs after Roswell and Sandy Springs amended their ordinances to ban carrying firearms to a public gathering instead of in a city park.  The Superior Court ruled in GCO’s favor on some of GCO’s claims against Atlanta, but then ended the case without considering GCO’s other claims.  GCO is appealing all three orders, seeking reversal of the judgments in favor or Roswell and Sandy Springs and seeking to have the case against Atlanta continue on GCO’s remaining claims.  The documents may be viewed here.

On May 9, 2008, Chief Judge Doris Downs of the Fulton County Superior Court granted GCO’s motion to find the City of Atlanta’s ban on carrying firearms in parks preempted by state law.  Judge Downs issued an injunction on May 19, 2008, ordering the city not to enforce its ordinance.  In the same case, Judge Downs dismissed GCO’s claims against Roswell and Sandy Springs, finding the claims moot after Roswell and Sandy Springs changed their ordinances from banning carrying in parks to banning carrying to a public gathering.  The orders in the case may be viewed here.

GCO has settled its suit against Fulton County regarding Fulton County’s ordinance banning the carrying a firearm in county parks. The county has repealed its ordinance. Under the terms of the settlement, Fulton County agrees to pay GCO for its attorney’s fees in exchange for being dismissed from the case.  Remaining in the case are Atlanta, Roswell, and Sandy Springs.

GCO has filed briefs supporting its motion for summary judgment and in opposition to Roswell’s and Sandy Springs’ motions for summary judgment.  The Fulton County Superior Court will hear these motions on May 9, 2008 in Courtroom 7F of the Fulton County Justice Center Tower. The briefs may be viewed here.

GCO has entered into a settlement agreement with the City of East Point, in a case filed by GCO against East Point and other Fulton County governmental entities over ordinances banning the carrying of firearms in parks.  East Point earlier had repealed its ordinance a replaced it with an ordinance banning carrying firearms to public gatherings.  After additional discussions with GCO, East Point has agreed to repeal the latter ordinance as well, coming into complete compliance with state law on the subject.  East Point also has agreed to reimburse GCO for its attorney’s fees.  GCO will drop East Point from the case after East Point complies with the settlement agreement.
Remaining in the case are Fulton County and the cities of Atlanta, Roswell, Sandy Springs.