Judge declares city citation for leaving gun in unlocked car is unconstitutional

A Georgia man got a big break after a judge tossed his case, arguing that he had violated a local ordinance prohibiting guns in unlocked vehicles.

Savannah Police cited Clayton Papp in August 2024 for violating the ordinance that comes with maximum penalties of a $1000 fine and 30 days in jail, Fox News reported.

Savannah Mayor Democrat Van Johnson pushed the ordinance, which was unanimously passed by the city council in 2024.

“We’ve had this in existence now for quite some time, and we have reduced the number of guns stolen from unlocked vehicles in Savannah,” Johnson told reporters.

Johnson also claimed that the ordinance had resulted in a significant reduction of stolen guns from more than 200 in 2023 to just over 100 in 2025, Fox reported.

Chatham County Recorder’s Court Judge Brian Joseph Huffman Jr., who ruled on the case, didn’t disagree that the ordinance was well-intended, but concluded the citation against Papp was ultimately unconstitutional.

“Concerns over firearms stolen from vehicles and later used in violent crime are in fact concerning,” Huffman said in his ruling. “Good intentions, however, do not immunize legislation from constitutional scrutiny.”

Huffman not only tossed the case, but also declared Savannah’s ordinance “void and unenforceable,” and that it “burdens conduct covered by the plain text of the Second Amendment,”
according to Fox.

Georgia Republican AG Chris Carr called the ruling “a major victory for law-abiding gun owners, who shouldn’t be punished for the actions of criminals [and] thieves.”

BREAKING: The Court has ruled against the City of Savannah — invalidating its unconstitutional firearms regulations.

This is a major victory for law-abiding gun owners, who shouldn’t be punished for the actions of criminals & thieves.

If the City is really interested in…

— GA AG Chris Carr (@Georgia_AG) November 12, 2025

But Carr’s celebration may be shortsighted, as Huffman’s ruling may only apply to Papp’s individual case.

“In theory, the city could continue to enforce the ordinance and leave it to individual defendants to raise this question again as a defense,” Georgia State University Law professor Anthony Michael Kreis said of Papp’s case, which was part of his criminal defense and not part of a broader lawsuit that sought to stop the ordinance.

Savannah Mayor Huffman said that the city will continue to enforce the ordinance.

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!