Judge rules Atlanta Botanical Garden can ban guns even though it operates on public property

  • Fulton County Judge Gail Tusan has ruled that the Atlanta Botanical Garden has the right to bar its visitors from bringing in firearms
  • Tusan ruled the botanical garden is a private entity and may lawfully prohibit guns
  • Phillip Evans was escorted out of the botanical garden in 2014 for wearing a handgun in a waistband holster
  • His attorney argued that the garden leases land from the city of Atlanta and cannot keep properly licensed people from carrying weapons there 

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: | Updated:

A judge has ruled that the Atlanta Botanical Garden has the right to bar its visitors from bringing in firearms, even though the garden operates on public property.

Fulton County Judge Gail Tusan ruled on Thursday that despite the public ownership of the land, the botanical garden is a private entity and may lawfully prohibit guns, it's been reported.

The ruling follows a 2014 incident involving Phillip Evans, a gun rights group member with a state firearms license, who was escorted out of the botanical garden for wearing a handgun in a waistband holster.

A judge has ruled that the Atlanta Botanical Garden (pictured) has the right to bar its visitors from bringing in firearms, even though the garden operates on public property

A judge has ruled that the Atlanta Botanical Garden (pictured) has the right to bar its visitors from bringing in firearms, even though the garden operates on public property

His attorney argued that the garden leases land from the city of Atlanta and cannot keep properly licensed people from carrying weapons there.

GeorgiaCarry.org had sued on Evans' behalf, My AJC reported.

John Monroe is the lawyer for both the gun rights group and Evans, its report said. 

Monroe's going to speak to his client about an appeal, he told My AJC.

Court records show Phillip Evans, a gun rights group member with a state firearms license, was escorted out of the botanical garden in 2014 for wearing a handgun in a waistband holster (stock)

Court records show Phillip Evans, a gun rights group member with a state firearms license, was escorted out of the botanical garden in 2014 for wearing a handgun in a waistband holster (stock)

He told 11 Alive: 'You can't put up a sign and think that's going to prevent crime.' 

Georgia law allows guns on government land and in government buildings, with some exceptions.

Mary Pat Matheson with the Botanical Garden told My AJC: 'Throughout this case, the garden's priority has been and will continue to be the safety of the hundreds of thousands of children and adults who visit it as a place to enjoy the peace and serenity of nature.'

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