Georgia Senate passes bill targeting Savannah gun ordinance on unlocked vehicle storage

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Georgia Sen. Colton Moore (R-Trenton) speaks on the Senate floor on Thursday, March 6, 2025, in support of a bill he introduced which counters a local gun-control ordinance in Savannah.

Credit: Georgia General Assembly

The Georgia Senate has approved legislation that challenges a recent ordinance in Savannah penalizing gun owners who leave their firearms unattended in unlocked vehicles.

Senate Bill 163, which passed Thursday strictly along party lines ahead of the Legislature's Crossover Day deadline, takes aim at an ordinance approved unanimously by Savannah City Council last year, which empowers the city to fine a person up to $1,000 for leaving a gun in an unlocked parked car.

If passed by the Georgia House of Representatives and signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp, SB 163 would enable any citizen facing such a fine to sue the city for up to $50,000 in damages.

Republican Georgia Sen. Colton Moore of Northwest Georgia's Dade County, who introduced the legislation, spoke in favor of its passage ahead of the vote, which drew unanimous support from Republican state senators and full opposition from the Democratic minority.

"When citizens in Northwest Georgia go to a place like Savannah — and there is a mayor there who has put in ordinances that violate their Second Amendment rights — my piece of legislation simply says that those citizens … have a right of tort to sue those governments for violating those rights," said Moore, wearing a lapel pin in the design of an AR-15 rifle.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson did not respond to a request for comment from GPB.

"It's a very simple bill," said Moore, who is among the legislature's most conservative members. "It says that we in the Georgia General Assembly — we get to make the laws that govern our states and municipalities. They don't get to come up with ordinances that subvert what we debate and legislate on in this room."

Democratic Georgia Sen. Derek Mallow — whose district includes Savannah — defended the city's ordinance, arguing that it was crafted at the request of local law enforcement to help prevent crime, especially in the city's tourist-heavy downtown.

"We keep our tourists safe," Mallow said. "What my city decided to do was to try to curb the amount of people who would just knowingly leave their firearms in their vehicles, unlocked and unattended," he added, citing police data showing that 85% of reported gun thefts in Savannah last year occurred in unlocked vehicles.

"I don't know about you, [but] I own plenty of guns, and they're not cheap," he said, adding that the ordinance helps to create "responsible" gun ownership.

Mallow noted what he saw as a contradiction in Republican priorities, arguing that the bill would enable citizens to file potentially frivolous lawsuits at a time when Republican senators are pushing for tort reform.

"You're asking for the support of our colleagues in the majority who overwhelmingly say that we need to end frivolous lawsuits," Mallow said of Republicans.

The bill faces an uncertain path in the Georgia House, as highlighted during questioning on the Senate floor when Republican Georgia Sen. Brian Strickland asked Moore whether he was worried about the bill's prospects in that chamber.

"Senator, I support your bill, but to be honest with you — to address the elephant in the room — I'm concerned whether or not, because it's your bill, this bill can get passed in the House," Strickland said. "Do you share that concern?"

Moore, who was recently banned from the House chamber by Speaker Jon Burns following disparaging comments that Moore made about deceased former House Speaker David Ralston, expressed confidence in the bill's future prospects.

"No, Senator, I really don't share that concern," responded Moore, who was arrested in January at the state Capitol after trying to enter the House floor in defiance of the ban. "It's such a good piece of legislation that certainly they would recognize that, and put personal differences aside and work for the people of Georgia and not for their self-interest."

This is not the first legal challenge to Savannah's firearm ordinance. Last year, a Jesup resident filed a lawsuit against the city of Savannah, arguing that it violated his Second Amendment right. A judge dismissed that case, ruling that the plaintiff lacked standing since he had not been cited under the ordinance.