Overview
- The Senate approved SB 204 on a 32–21 party-line vote, advancing the first bill of the session aimed at limiting local firearm rules.
- Lawmakers added “storage” to Georgia’s firearms preemption law, curbing cities’ ability to regulate how guns are kept in vehicles.
- SB 204 creates a private right of action allowing people cited under local measures to seek at least $25,000 in damages or three times their legal costs.
- Savannah’s 2024 ordinance set penalties of up to a $1,000 fine and 30 days in jail for leaving guns in unlocked cars, with officials reporting a 30% drop in such thefts and 41 citations issued.
- Mayor Van Johnson said the city will stop enforcing the ordinance if the bill becomes law, as gun-safety advocates criticized the legislature’s move and a prior local court ruling had already dismissed one case.