The gun rights group GeorgiaCarry.org and one of its members have filed a lawsuit claiming that a pair of Carrollton local ordinances that prohibit firearms at parades and on the city’s planned 16-mile Greenbelt Trail violate state law and the state constitution.
The suit brought Thursday asks the Superior Court in Carroll County to declare the two ordinances void.
John Miller, a Carrollton resident who is one of the plaintiffs, said he wants to be able to carry a firearm for his protection without fear he will be arrested for violating an ordinance that carries a punishment of a $1,000 fine and six months in jail. Miller also said that as a taxpayer he did not want public funds used to enforce the ordinances.
According to the suit, GeorgiaCarry.org tried unsuccessfully to discuss the matter with city officials in January. In February, according to the suit, Mayor Wayne Garner told reporters he would not put discussions of the gun ordinances on any City Council meeting agendas and would instead “ ‘let a judge tell me that we need to do that.’ ”
The suit said Georgia law prohibits local governments from regulating where or when guns can be carried. The suit also said the state constitution says only the Legislature can “prescribe the manner in which arms may be borne” as long as state laws don’t infringe on “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.”
Carrollton city officials did not respond to a telephone message seeking comment late Friday afternoon.
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