Savannah mayor: Locked gun ordinance 'lives to fight another day' as GOP challenge fails at Capitol

Caption

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson speaks during a news conference at the Savannah Civic Center on Tuesday, April 8.

Credit: Benjamin Payne / GPB News

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson is expressing relief after Georgia lawmakers failed to pass legislation that would have challenged the city's recently enacted gun-control ordinance.

The ordinance, passed last year, allows the city to fine gun owners up to $1,000 if they leave a firearm unattended in an unlocked vehicle.

"It was clear that we were not trying to take anyone's guns or restrict anyone's right to have a gun," Johnson told reporters Tuesday at his weekly news conference. "We just wanted to bring down the number of guns that were stolen from unlocked cars."

Republican lawmakers had attempted to counteract Savannah's measure through a House substitute bill to Senate Bill 204, an unrelated piece of legislation about district attorneys' prosecution powers.

The substitute bill would have granted individuals accused of violating local gun-control ordinances the ability to sue municipalities for either "actual damages" or $25,000, whichever amount is greater.

While the legislation passed the Georgia House on Friday along party lines with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed, time ran out before the Senate could vote on it before adjourning its 2025 legislative session.

Johnson, a former police officer and a gun owner who keeps his firearm with him "most of the time," praised Democratic resistance to the bill, particularly from Reps. Anne Allen Westbrook and Edna Jackson, who represent parts of Savannah and Chatham County.

"The reality was that we structured an ordinance that was narrowly defined that really dealt with the issue of the vehicle rather than the gun," Johnson said.

This was not the first legislative attempt to challenge Savannah's ordinance. An earlier measure, Senate Bill 163, had passed the Georgia Senate along party lines, with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing.

That legislation would have allowed citizens to sue local municipalities up to $50,000 for fines related to gun-control ordinances. However, it never received a vote in the House.

Johnson acknowledged that similar legislative challenges will likely emerge next year.

"Next year will be a new year with new battles to fight, but Savannah lives to fight another day," he said, adding that he hopes "wiser and cooler heads will prevail" in future debates.

Despite the political controversy surrounding the ordinance, Johnson maintained that the requirement is straightforward and reasonable.

"To me, asking someone to simply lock their car if they have a firearm in it — it's not too much to ask," Johnson said. "We're going do what makes sense. And, for us, this is [as] common as common sense gets."

More than 200 firearms were stolen from unlocked vehicles in Savannah last year, a statistic Johnson cited while emphasizing the city's commitment to public safety measures.

"We're gonna do in Savannah everything we can to be able to try to keep people safe," Johnson said. "We tout Georgia as being the best place in America to do business, [but] we have to be the best in America to live and the best place in America not to get shot."