State gun rights organization Georgia Carry is suing Governor Brian Kemp (R) and Hall County Probate Judge Patty Laine over the non-issuance of Georgia weapons carry licenses (GWL) during the coronavirus shutdown.
The suit, Cummings vs. Kemp, was filed in the Superior Court of Hall County, State of Georgia, on April 13, 2020. It centers upon the current inability to apply for, or receive, a GWL in Hall County.
The plaintiffs in the suit, Anna Cummings and Georgia Carry, seek “declaratory and injunctive relief under the Georgia Constitution and O.C.G.A. § 16-11-129 because [Cummings] is prohibited by statute from carrying a weapon without a GWL and prohibited by custom, policy, or practice from applying for or obtaining a GWL.”
They explain the suit against Kemp and Laine:
- Kemp is the conservator of the peace throughout the state and is obligated to take care
that the laws are faithfully executed. - Pursuant to guidance from the Supreme Court of Georgia in Lathrop v. Deal, Kemp is
sued in his individual capacity for declaratory and injunctive relief. - Defendant Patty Laine (“Laine”) is the Judge of the Hall County Probate Court.
- Defendant is responsible for the issuance of GWLs in Hall County, Georgia, pursuant to
O.C.G.A § 16-11-129. - Pursuant to guidance from the Supreme Court of Georgia in Lathrop v. Deal, Laine is
sued in her individual capacity for declaratory and injunctive relief. - Laine is sued in mandamus in her official capacity as Judge of the Probate Court of Hall
County. - On March 14, 2020, Kemp declared a public health state of emergency in Georgia on
account of a COVID-19 pandemic. - The same day, Chief Justice Harold Melton of the Supreme Court of Georgia (“Melton”)
declared a state of judicial emergency for the State of Georgia. - Melton’s declaration directed the courts of Georgia to maintain essential functions during
the emergency. - The probate judges of Georgia generally, and Laine in particular, have concluded that
issuing GWLs is not an essential function.
Georgia Carry also filed suit against Kemp in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division. The federal suit, filed April 9, 2020, regards the non-issuance of GWLs in Fulton County, Georgia, during the coronavirus shutdown.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange