COVINGTON, Ga. — Under the impromptu request of Councilman Anthony Henderson, the city of Covington added a discussion topic regarding firearms in public city parks to its agenda Monday night. 

The council and City Attorney Frank Turner Jr. weighed the legality of any gun restrictions and concluded they would have to do more research and revisit the topic in the future.

Henderson requested that the council consider the safety implications of allowing guns in parks.

“If you just follow the news that goes on in our community, we notice a lot of crimes are happening in the parks and kids are bringing guns into the park,” Henderson said.

This appeared to allude to the Denny Dobbs Park shooting on March 19 that left a high schooler dead.

Though Henderson did not refer to the incident by name, Mayor Fleeta Baggett later directly mentioned the incident, asking if the county was making any changes there. 

Henderson made it clear that his rationale stemmed from safety, not anti-gun sentiment.

“First, disclaimer: I’m not against the Second Amendment right,” Henderson said. “I believe one should have the ability to bear arms and to protect their family. But I feel like at certain locations that guns – they should be unacceptable.”

Though Denny Dobbs Park is in Newton County, it is not within Covington city limits and therefore not under the city council’s jurisdiction. 

The council echoed that it could be wise to see if the county has taken any actions to implement more restrictions in recent weeks.

But what made the topic an immediate concern for Henderson was his personal experience seeing someone carrying a firearm in a Covington park just days prior.

Henderson told the room that last weekend, he went to Central Park on Lunsford Circle with his family. There, he noticed a man with his own family had a firearm.

The firearm was not pulled or used in any manner, but when Henderson noticed it, he began to think about possible implications.

“And so that made me think, ‘Well, you know, this guy can walk up on the park, has a gun on him, and just going on with his day-to-day operations while the kids run around,’” Henderson said. “And so once I saw that, I went and walked outside the park to see if we had any signs that said ‘no weapons in the park.’ I didn’t see any.”

Henderson asked the council to consider banning firearms in city parks and implementing fines should one be caught with a gun. But the city attorney, Frank Turner Jr., raised concerns that a firearm ban would be illegal and unenforceable.

Turner cited a 2022 statewide “constitutional carry” law that made Georgia a permitless carry state. That means that if a person meets the requirement to obtain a concealed carry permit (based on criminal record, etc.), then they automatically qualify to conceal carry in public and do not have to actually obtain a permit. The law did not change who was eligible to carry, it just removed the requirement to obtain a permit.

“You don’t have to have [a concealed carry permit],” Turner said. “And you’re allowed to carry a concealed or open carry weapon pretty much anywhere. Certainly in parks. The law expressly says you’re allowed to carry in public parks and on public property.”

Baggett inquired if the city could call parks “gun-free zones,” but Turner said that as soon as anyone inquired about such signage in court, a judge would make the city remove them.

“I believe you have to be 18 to get a permit,” Turner said. “So anyone over 18 is essentially allowed to carry a gun in a public park unless they’re a felon. The only way you wouldn’t qualify for a gun permit is if you’ve been convicted of a gun crime and been deemed unfit to carry a gun by a judge, or are a convicted felon.”

Turner mentioned being unsure if the age was 18 or 21, saying he would check. The council held its discussion as if the age was 18 for conversation's sake.

According to Georgia’s Weapons Carry License information website, one must be 21 or older to to apply, with certain exceptions to 18 for those in the military. However, other resources state that Georgians may possess a handgun at 18, but cannot legally purchase one until 21. 

Councilwoman Charika Davis asked how firearms were banned in schools, to which the city attorney said there is an exception in Kindergarten through high schools allowing gun regulation, but that such regulation does not even extend to college campuses.

The council mused that if parks are typically for kids in Kindergarten through high school, perhaps such regulation could extend to that environment. But Turner said that was not an option either.

“You could prohibit the children from carrying them, but you’re not allowed to prohibit adults,” Turner said. “I’m not defending the law, I’m just telling you what the legislature’s done in its wisdom.”

Councilwoman Susie Keck suggested the city could implement signage saying that those under 18 could not have guns in the park, as it would comply with the legal requirements to possess a firearm.

“I mean, the kids aren’t going to read the signs,” Keck said. “If they just see ‘no weapons’ and then this little bitty print it says [under 18].”

Baggett echoed this idea, jointly proposing the signs saying ‘no weapons’ in large print with the classic circle/slash sign over a firearm image, and then the age restriction in smaller print.

The council and city attorney determined that they will be looking into what they could do within legal bounds to try and keep firearms from the city parks.

“Let’s look into it, I’m with y’all,” Baggett said. “Anywhere that we can make anything any safer, I agree.”