Judge Again Refuses to Nix State Handgun License Law During COVID-19

A federal judge in Atlanta has rejected an attempt by two West Coast pro-gun groups to nullify a Georgia law requiring a license to carry a handgun in public. 

The two groups—the Second Amendment Foundation, based in Bellevue, Washington, and the California-based Firearms Policy—sought to capitalize on the COVID-19 pandemic and a current statewide judicial emergency in Georgia to challenge one of the state’s few remaining gun control laws.

Lawyers for the two gun rights groups and Lisa Walters, a Cherokee County handgun owner who claims membership in both organizations, argued that a decision by the state’s Council of Probate Judges to suspend processing applications for a state weapons license during the statewide judicial emergency violates their Second and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

The plaintiffs sought a temporary restraining order that would bar any enforcement of the handgun carry license law or would require county probate judges across the state to accept and process handgun license applications and issue licenses while courthouses across the state have suspended all but essential court functions. The issuance of handgun carry licenses was not deemed an essential function.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones of the Northern District of Georgia said no.

Jones said that neither Walter and the gun rights organizations will be irreparably harmed if she is unable to secure a handgun carry license during the state judicial emergency, because it is temporary.

Walter’s license expired in January. But she made no apparent effort to renew it until after the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia declared a statewide judicial emergency March 14 suspending most nonessential court operations. On Monday, Chief Justice Harold Melton extended that emergency order through June 12.

“There is nothing in the record to suggest that the probate judges will not resume processing [Georgia weapons carry license] applications when the state of emergency is lifted, and it becomes safe to do so,” Jones said.

Jones also noted that Walter is currently permitted by law to have an unlicensed handgun at home, at her place of business, and in her car, or while hunting and fishing with a license. Unlicensed individuals may also openly carry a loaded long-barreled gun, including a semiautomatic rifle, in public.

“Because all these options remain available to plaintiff Walters, the inability to obtain a [handgun carry license] during the limited pendency of the state of emergency does not gut the plaintiff’s general right to keep and bear arms in self-defense.” Jones ruled.

Jones also ruled that the plaintiffs have not pointed to any binding case law to back up their claim that the Second Amendment established a fundamental right to carry a loaded handgun in public venues.

Moreover, Jones held, “Georgia’s licensing requirement can hardly be characterized as a categorical firearms ban because “under normal circumstances, it operates to ensure qualified individuals can carry weapons in public.”

Jones also held that the plaintiffs have other unexplored avenues to seek a handgun carry license, among them petitioning a Georgia court for a writ of mandamus directing the Cherokee County probate judge to accept and process handgun carry license applications and renewals during the current judicial emergency—a remedy provided for in the state licensing statute.

“Clearly the state and county have a considerable public health interest in curtailing normal activities to stop the exponential spread of a deadly virus,” Jones said. “Plaintiffs are asking this court to enter an order (1) prohibiting enforcement of a duly enacted criminal statute and (2) forcing a county probate judge to issue licenses pursuant to state law. … This is drastic relief, and plaintiffs have not cited to any cases where a court has issued such an order.”

Tuesday’s ruling marks the second loss for Dawsonville attorney John Monroe, general counsel and founder of GeorgiaCarry.org, who sought the TRO on behalf of Walter and the west coast gun groups. 

“We are disappointed and weighing our options,” Monroe said of Jones’ latest order.

Last month, Jones denied GeorgiaCarry.org and one of its Fulton County members a temporary restraining order that would have suspended the state handgun carry license requirement until the judicial emergency is exhausted.