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Katie Nussbaum|Savannah Morning News

The killing of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed Black man, in Brunswick last year has led several state lawmakers to opposeGeorgias citizen's arrest and stand your ground laws. Savannah City Council is set to put itsvoice behind these efforts on Thursday as members voteon a resolution to support the repeal of the stand your ground legislation.

Both issues have been in the state and national spotlight over the past year after lawyers for the two white men accused of killing Arbery indicated they will cite the laws as a defense at trial.

Rep. Carl Gilliard (D-Garden City) said it was Arberys death that led him tosponsor House Bill 45, which would repeal the citizens arrest law. The lawcurrently allows those who witness someone committing a felony to detain the person.

As a nation, we saw a videotape that revealed that people were taking the law into their own hands and went bad, he said.

Travis McMichael and his father, Gregory McMichael, have both been charged with murder in Arberys death and told prosecutors they suspected he was responsible for break-ins in their neighborhood, even though no break-ins had been reported in recent weeks. A third man, William Bryan Jr., was also charged with murder after he joined the chase and allegedly struck Arberywith his vehicle.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said the repeal of the laws would help to legally protect Georgia residents.

"These stand your ground laws are associated with increased homicides," Johnson said.Right now our law allows the person to shoot and kill another person, even when they can clearly and safely walk away. There is not a retreat required.

In June, Johnson joined several other mayors from around the state in sending a letter to the Georgia General Assembly asking them to repeal the stand your ground law. Like Gilliard, they were moved to take action following Arbery's death.

"In order to prevent things like that from happening we have to prevent the opportunities for those things to happen," Johnson said.

Gilliard said other Georgia cities and counties have expressed their support for the measures, including Glynn County, Screven County, City of South Fulton and the City of Atlanta. If HB 45 moves to a committee, Gilliard believes it will be heard by the House Judiciary committee.

I think we've got a lot of good support with law enforcement because it's not anti-law enforcement its pro-law enforcement. Its saying that they are the professionals, theyre the ones that know more than Carl or anyone else, so we should allow them to be able to administer any arrest or any judgment, Gilliard said of the repeal efforts.

While citizen's arrest and stand your ground are two separate issues when it comes to legislation, both Johnson and Gilliard said they go back to the same factors.

What's happening is that when you think about stand your ground, you think about Trayvon Martin, unfortunately, who was taken away insensitively. A lot of times when we want to become law enforcement, but we can't, we're just not equipped and skilled enough, Gilliard said.

Even in the Trayvon Martin situation, if that individual had just let the law be the law with the 911 call maybe Trayvon Martin would still be alive.

Katie Nussbaum is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact her at knussbaum@savannahnow.com. Twitter: KmartSMN

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Savannah City Council considers taking stand on stand your ground law with resolution - Savannah Morning News