Reidsville, GA "No Guns Allowed" Magic Signs! © 2018 Phillip Evans

January 9th, Jessica Szilagyi published an article titled: "Reidsville Set to Violate State Law with 'Gun-Free Zone' Signs."

This piqued my interest partly because I am a gun-carry-rights-for-citizens activist. And partly because Reidsville is a small city with a small budget. I pretty much knew they would not be spending any money to hire a POST Certified law-enforcement officer to handle or even oversee any weapons screening of people as they enter. 

Map highlighting Tattnall County by David Benbennick

As Ms. Szilagyi correctly pointed out, local governments per state law (OCGA 16-11-127), cannot enforce any ban in "government buildings" on weapons carry by citizens who are licensed to carry, unless screening is in place. 

The exception to this requirement are certain government and other buildings specifically off-limits under state law such as court houses (or any building which houses a courtroom), jails, mental institutions, nuclear facilities, etc.

There is one small bone to pick with Ms. Szilagyi, however. Reidsville may not be breaking state law by posting the signs, as long as they do not try to enforce them by excluding or ejecting lawful carriers of weapons. 

On the other hand, one might argue the signs constitute a "policy". If a judge happens to agree, then state law would be in violation, as local governments are forbidden by the state to institute any policy banning weapons beyond what state law does. 

“We’ve had some people come in up front there with two or three firearms on them and all that and we don’t need nothin’ like that here” - Mayor Sydney Clifton.

So to get to the bottom of this, I submitted an open records act request to get copies of any documents related to the signs.

I received a copy of their city council planning meeting held Jan. 2nd at 5:09pm, which indicated that Councilman Jim Waters made the suggestion to buy and post signs that stated, "No Guns Allowed."

The purchase price of the three 8x12 aluminum signs was $48.00. No vote was taken on the measure to commission the signs because, as City Clerk Britney Fountain explained in an email to me: "No voting or motions are made in the Planning Sessions, only the Regular Scheduled Council Meetings." 

Mighty nice of the city to spend tax-payer money without voting on it. Did they even take bids? I don't know, I just didn't think to ask about that. 

Now for the punch line!

"The signs have been placed on the building (City Hall) at all three doors. The Mayor said the signs will remain in place, but the City of Reidsville will not prosecute anyone for bringing a gun inside the building. Per Mayor Clifton, the signs are in place to deter people from actually bringing the guns inside City Hall" - Britney Fountain speaking for the Mayor in her email reply to me.

There you have it: MAGIC SIGNS!

These signs which will NOT be enforced, are designed to DECEIVE law-abiding citizens into thinking they cannot be lawfully armed inside Reidsville City Hall for the protection of themselves and their families.

Not many folks are lawyers, and even many lawyers are not always well acquainted with the finer points of the law. So I'm sure Mayor Sydney Clifton will thank me for educating folks that you can INDEED CARRY inside their city hall building if you possess a valid weapons license (issued either by the State of Georgia or a reciprocal state).

No security measures are being put in place to keep out illegally carried weapons, mind you. Only disarmament-by-deception of citizens who have spent the time, money, and taken the trouble to be vetted by the state to be trusted to carry firearms and other lawful weapons, by obtaining a license to carry.

Perhaps the citizens of Reidsville should wonder why the Mayor has such a low view of their public trust, to use such shenanigans in an attempt to control them.

The city does not want you carrying your self-defense firearm there, even if you are a law-abiding citizen, and even if legal under state law.

Here's how you can show the city that the emperor has no clothes: 

Whenever you have business there in city hall (and if licensed to carry), OPENLY carry your holstered pistol there, and have a friend take a photo of you carrying right next to the gun-buster door sign. Then send the photo to local city and county TV news and newspapers. Embarrass the city. 

Perhaps they will then think twice before uncovering their raw arrogance again, at tax-payer expense.

Reidsville's Mayor and City Council certainly are not doing anything to dispel the notion that small-town, backwoods politics still exist in Georgia. Boss Hogg would be proud.