Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has filed a brief in support of a lawsuit against Savannah Mayor Van Johnson over a local ordinance aimed at penalizing gun owners who leave firearms in unlocked cars, escalating an ongoing feud between Georgia’s top prosecutor and the mayor of the state’s oldest city.
The lawsuit stems from an ordinance that was unanimously passed by Johnson and the Savannah City Council in April 2024, requiring firearms to be “securely stored” when left in cars and establishing a maximum penalty of $1,000 in fines and 30 days in jail for people who leave them inside unlocked vehicles. It also mandates that those who have had a firearm stolen report the theft to the Savannah Police Department within 24 hours.
“This misguided attempt to punish law-abiding Georgians does absolutely nothing to address crime, and it won’t hold up in Court,” Carr said in a press release Monday. “No matter how much the Mayor disagrees with our laws, he cannot openly infringe on the Second Amendment rights of our citizens. Progressive politics aren’t a defense for government overreach.”
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