Georgia Gun Owners Handed Setback By Supposedly Pro-Gun Legislature

My home state of Georgia is a pretty pro-gun state. I mean, we’ve got constitutional carry and, in the time since I’ve been involved in gun rights, we’ve rolled back a ton of carry restrictions. Things are, for the most part, pretty good here.

But they’re not perfect.

See, we’ve got preemption, but there isn’t a whole lot in place to discourage local lawmakers from ignoring it, even for a time. They figure they can pass some bit of gun control, get away with it for a time, and maybe the courts will somehow decide preemption is illegal.

Savannah, for example, has been trying to play that game.

A bill was introduced that would allow private individuals to step in and file suit over local gun control laws, though, and if it passed, suddenly every city that tried it could face immediate repercussions from citizens.

I was hopeful it would get somewhere.

Unfortunately, we all just got dealt a setback.

A Georgia bill that would have allowed residents to sue local governments for enacting local gun safety measures died Friday evening before the state Senate could approve it.

The bill, which supporters said would have ensured localities don’t violate people’s gun rights, was passed by the House earlier Friday, and the Senate had been expected to give it final approval. But the chamber ended its last day of session early without voting on the bill, leaving it dead at least until next year, when the Senate could take it up again.

Senate Bill 204 would have let people sue local governments if they had been “aggrieved” by a rule that conflicts with gun rights granted by state law and seek compensation for some damages.

Trenton Republican Sen. Colton Moore proposed the original measure to thwart gun safety ordinances like one in Savannah that punishes people who leave weapons in unlocked cars. But Moore said he no longer supports the move in part because the most individuals can receive in compensation is $25,000 instead of $50,000.

Democrats — including those who said they own and value their guns — said the bill would hinder local governments that want to protect people from preventable gun violence.

While I get where Moore was coming from, I think it’s important to get something on the books now. Sure, they might not get as much as he’d like, but do you know what they get now? Nothing.

And don’t get me started on the idiot Democrats who think this law would “hinder local governments.”

Preemption is already the law. They’re already “hindered” by law. All this did was give preemption some more teeth.

I’m absolutely sick and tired of these lawmakers who can’t seem to comprehend that not only do gun laws not stop criminals, but misdemeanor “gun crimes” most definitely don’t stop them.

And punishing people who have their guns stolen out of their cars, as the Savannah ordinance does, most definitely isn’t the answer to literally anything. But Savannah did it, and the bill that might have actually done some good for a lot of people didn’t pass because the anti-gun Democrats in the General Assembly want that sort of thing, and at least one Republican voted against it because apparently, nothing is better than not quite enough.

We’re living in the dumbest timeline, and this might not be the most egregious example of how I know that, but it’s still a data point just the same.