A lawsuit has been filed against the City of Savannah over a local firearms ordinance.
Ordinance
In April 2024, the Savannah City Council passed two ordinances: “Report of Theft or Loss of a Firearm, Rifle, or Shotgun” (Section 9-1027) and “Secured Storage of Firearms, Rifles, and Shotguns in Parked Vehicles”(Section 9-1028).
- Section 9-1027 requires the owner of a firearm that is lost or stolen to report the loss or theft to the Savannah Police Department within 24 hours
- Section 9-1028(a) requires every person who possesses a firearm within a vehicle to store such firearm in a glove compartment, console, locked trunk or area behind the last upright seat in a vehicle when the vehicle is unoccupied.
- Section 9-1028(b) requires every person with a firearm in a vehicle to ensure the firearm is not visible at any time when the vehicle is unoccupied.
- Section 9-1028(c) requires every person with a firearm in a vehicle to ensure that all doors and hatches are locked when the vehicle is unoccupied
Violations of the ordinance come with a fine of up to $1,000 and 30 days in jail.
In April 2024, Mayor Van Johnson said the ordinance would be enforced on a case-by-case basis, as reported by WSAV. “We’re going to enforce as we investigate … if there are failures in the investigation process, we might charge kind of like what we do with accidents to determine fault or determine negligence.”
Lawsuit
Deacon Morris is suing the city, alleging that the ordinance is unlawful under Georgia’s firearm preemption law. He was cited for a violation of Section 9-1028(c) in August 2024 by the Savannah Police Department. On October 28, 2024, the Chatham County Recorder’s Court called the case, and Savannah orally announced it would enter a nolle prosequi and give Morris a warning. While the city ultimately decided not to pursue the charges against Morris, fees and costs were incurred to address the “illegal ordinance” and its enforcement, the suit says.
The suit specifically seeks to have the ordinance “declared void and unenforceable, on the grounds that the ordinance is preempted by state law, the Georgia Constitution, and is ultra vires, and to recover damages incurred as a result of Defendant’s enforcement of this law.”
Named in the suit is Mayor Van Johnson and the City Alderman and notes that the city has “no power to enact the ordinance” and that it’s a violation of the Georgia Constitution.
Morris has the support of the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), a 501(c)4 nonprofit membership organization in all 50 states that seeks to “expand liberty through advocacy, culture, and support.” FPC undertook the costs of Morris’s legal representation in defense against the citation.
“Savannah’s gun control law at issue in this case is patently unlawful and must be stopped before it’s enforced against others,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “We will fight to have this ordinance invalidated and enjoined from enforcement so Savannah can no longer abuse its residents and visitors with this unlawful scheme.”
John R. Monroe of John Monroe Law, P.C. is representing Morris.
Other Action
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, sent a letter to the City of Savannah in May 2024, writing that “no local ordinance can regulate firearms” and noted that they could be sued civilly. Savannah officials ignored the letter.
In November 2024, a judge threw out a challenge to the ordinance brought by Clarence Belt because Belt was not a resident of the city and had not been cited.
The Georgia Senate passed a measure in March 2025 which would allow people cited under Savannah’s ordinance to sue the city for up to $50,000. Sponsored by Senator Colton Moore, the measure passed 33-23 along party lines. The bill did not gain final passage this year, so can be considered again in 2026.
