FPC Files Reply for Motion for Summary Judgement in Savannah’s Preemption Violation Case

The state of Georgia provides precisely one exception to preemption of gun laws. Local governments can ban the discharge of firearms within the city limits. That’s it. My hometown of Albany can’t ban assault weapons. Atlanta can’t decide to make city parks gun-free zones (though they have tried repeatedly). And Savannah can’t prosecute people who have guns stolen from their cars.

But Savannah’s mayor and city council can’t seem to comprehend that simple fact.

That’s why the Firearms Policy Coalition filed a lawsuit against the city, and that’s why they asked the judge for summary judgment, and the group just filed a reply in that case.

What: Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed a reply in support of its motion for summary judgment in Morris v. Savannah, its lawsuit challenging a City of Savannah, Georgia firearm storage ordinance that is patently unlawful under the State’s comprehensive firearm preemption law.

Who: FPC is joined in the litigation by Deacon Morris, an FPC member. The plaintiffs are represented by attorney John R. Monroe of John Monroe Law, P.C.

Where: The brief was filed in Chatham County Superior Court in Georgia.

When: The brief was filed on June 18, 2026. The Court will now either decide the motion on the papers or scheduled oral arguments.

Why: Preemption laws like Georgia’s exist to prevent peaceable gun owners from having to navigate a minefield of ordinances that could result in fines and jail time. The state’s law applies to all local jurisdictions, including Savannah.

As they note in the brief, Savannah doesn’t actually dispute any of the claims made by the plaintiffs. They’re simply trying to win on the issue of standing and some rather bizarre claims.

On the issue of standing, the brief notes:

Savannah argues that FPC does not have standing because the Supreme Court has eliminated associational standing in Georgia.  See Wasserman v. Franklin County, 320 2 Ga. 624 (2025).  FPC does not, however, depend on associational standing in this case.  Instead, FPC has standing in its own right. 

FPC suffered damages on account of Savannah’s violations of O.C.G.A. § 16-11173(b).  It incurred costs to defend Morris against the charges, including attorney’s fees and travel expenses.  Moreover, O.C.G.A. § 16-11-173(g) provides for statutory damages for any person “aggrieved” as a result of the violations.  Because FPC has itself suffered damages, it has standing by itself, without reference to the standing of its members. 

Even if this Court finds that FPC does not have standing, however, as shown below, Morris has standing and is entitled to all the relief requested in this case. 

Bingo. Even if the FPC is, as itself, excluded as lacking standing, Morris does have it. While Savannah argues he doesn’t, simply because he’s never been cited under this measure, Georgia tends not to see things that way. “Savannah fails, however, to address Georgia’s robust doctrine of citizen/taxpayer standing.  A citizen or taxpayer may bring a lawsuit to restrain public officials from performing acts that are ultra vires or unlawful.  League of Women Votes[sic], Inc. v. Atlanta, 245 Ga. 301 (1980),” the brief argues, and they’re right.

It’s not unusual for individuals to sue over rules they haven’t been arrested for violating, and those cases are generally allowed to proceed, in part because the law itself creates a kind of suffered damages by preventing otherwise lawful behavior.

As I, a layman, understand it.

Look, this is as much of a slam dunk as the FPC’s lawsuit printer is ever going to see. Preemption is the law in Georgia, and it’s clear what municipalities can and cannot do. I honestly don’t see how any judge or jury can see it differently, even if they wanted to rule otherwise. That doesn’t mean they won’t figure out a way, but ultimately, I don’t see how Savannah thinks it’ll prevail.

We warned them before they passed the ordinance, and they didn’t listen. Now they deserve to learn the error of their ways, and learn it good and hard.

Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

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