Overview
- Recorder's Court Judge Brian Joseph Huffman Jr. dismissed the citation against Clayton Papp and declared the ordinance void and unenforceable.
- The ruling found the measure conflicts with state preemption of local gun regulation and burdens conduct protected by the Second Amendment.
- Because the challenge came in a criminal defense, legal experts say the decision likely binds only that case rather than blocking citywide enforcement.
- Mayor Van Johnson said the city will continue to enforce the measure and reported that guns stolen from unlocked vehicles fell from more than 200 in 2023 to just over 100 this year.
- Johnson said the city will appeal to Superior Court, while Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr praised the ruling as a victory for gun owners and a prior civil suit was dismissed for lack of standing.