Savannah Police Department talks enforcement, responds to criticism of gun ordinance

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — It has been nearly one week since enforcement began on Savannah’s latest gun ordinance which aims to crack down on those leaving their firearms in unlocked cars.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson signed the unnamed ordinance into law on April 15 after it passed the city council on April 11.

The ordinance makes it illegal for gun owners to leave their firearms in unlocked cars in addition to not reporting missing firearms to police within 24 hours.

Per statistics from the Savannah Police Department (SPD), 244 guns were stolen from cars in 2023, 203 of them coming from unlocked cars.

From Jan. to March 30, 2024, 56 out of the 69 stolen guns came from unlocked cars, according to SPD.

What those statistics do not represent is who is committing the crimes.

SPD Asst. Chief Robert Gavin says it is mostly juveniles.

“The majority of the people getting ahold of these weapons are juveniles and we’re seeing that uptick in juveniles who are either carrying weapons or committing accidental shootings, and the ones that they’re are taken from other people,” explained Gavin.

Some critics of the ordinance have told News 3 they fear enforcement could resemble a witch hunt of legal gun owners, but SPD says officers are not actively looking for non-compliers, and that enforcement will mostly be through an honor code.

“We’re not out looking to fine people,” Gavin told News 3, “We want people to do this. We want people to remind themselves that they need to do this as they are getting out of their car.”

He equates the enforcement and its intended outcome to that of traffic-light camera laws.

“You might not like the ordinance, but people slowed down, people started paying attention to how fast they were going.”

A key point he drove home to law-abiding gun owners is that this is not an anti-gun law.

“No one wants to take anyone’s guns away,” he says, “What we do want is for you to be responsible for your weapon, and ensure that it’s safe like you would around your own family members.”

SPD says those caught breaking the law could face up to a $1,000 fine.