Georgia County Maintains Gun Shutdown Despite Statewide Reopening

Despite a statewide reopening, residents in one Georgia county are still unable to legally obtain firearms-carry licenses after a federal judge allowed local authorities to shut down the permitting process, sparking a legal showdown.

District Court judge Steve Jones ruled that the plaintiffs did not have standing to challenge the state's permit law or the county's implementation of it during the coronavirus pandemic. Gun-rights activists have vowed to appeal the decision. The case has gained renewed energy as the county has refused to reopen the vetting office even as Republican governor Brian Kemp has lifted pandemic restrictions.

"The permitting process is still closed," Alan Gottlieb, head of the Second Amendment Foundation, told the Washington Free Beacon. "We are filing an immediate appeal."

The court ruled that a local resident did not have standing to challenge county probate judge Keith Wood's decision to close down the permitting process. Jones added that concerns about social distancing outweighed the plaintiffs' claims that the policy violated the Second Amendment, noting that "the state and county have a considerable public health interest in curtailing normal activities to stop the exponential spread of a deadly virus."