Attorney General Chris Carr has taken action to support a new lawsuit and challenge the City of Savannah’s attempt to restrict the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
For context, the City of Savannah adopted two local ordinances in April of 2024, restricting the possession of firearms. They do this by punishing law-abiding citizens whose guns are stolen from their cars.
AG Carr responded in May of that year by sending a letter to Savannah officials explaining that these ordinances directly conflict with Georgia state law. Georgia law expressly prohibits local governments from regulating the possession, transport, or carrying of firearms, whatsoever.
In the letter to the City’s Attorney, Bates Lovett, AG Carr remarks on how his office never received a request to review the ordinances laid out. Alongside this, Carr cites the Constitution of Georgia several times to make clear how unlawful the ordinances actually are.
The letter concludes with a clear warning, “Because the City of Savannah lacks the authority to regulate the possession, ownership, and transportation of firearms, this Office’s view is that the ordinances are ultra vires and void.”
AG Carr commented on the ordinances, calling them ineffective and misguided. He also called out the Mayor of Savannah, Van R. Johnson, for his progressive politics and obvious overreach.
“This misguided attempt to punish law-abiding Georgians does absolutely nothing to address crime, and it won’t hold up in Court," AG Carr stated. “No matter how much the Mayor disagrees with our laws, he cannot openly infringe on the Second Amendment rights of our citizens. Progressive politics aren’t a defense for government overreach.”
Despite AG Carr’s recommendation that the City take immediate action and rescind the approval of the ordinances, the City refused to do so. This has resulted in a lawsuit in which Carr has now filed a brief.
This is not the first time that the City of Savannah has received pushback for these laws. In March of 2025, the Georgia Senate passed Senate Bill 163, enabling citizens to sue the City and receive $50,000 in damages if fined according to the ordinances.
