CUMMING — An attorney with a firearms legal defense program gave a presentation Monday night on gun laws to a gathering of the United Tea Party of Georgia.

The talk by Matt Kilgo with U.S. Law Shield covered several topics, including the effectiveness of signs prohibiting guns in businesses, where guns can be taken and issues for teenagers with guns.

“Places that post signs, those signs are no good,” Kilgo said. “They’re no better than the money that they used to print those signs.

“The way I understand the law, and I believe the way that Georgia Carry understands the law, is that in order for the notice to be effective it has to be what I call open and notorious.

“If I don’t want you to bring a firearm in my building, I have to walk up to you and tell you … you can’t bring that [weapon] into my business.”

Jason Junca, district manager for U.S. Law Shield, said the group formed to help with legal issues for those who had used a gun to defend themselves.

“We were started in 2009 by prosecutors and defense attorneys who saw too many people doing the right thing and ended up going bankrupt by doing [so],” Junca said. “Not only do they have to go through the criminal trial, but then following that is a civil trial.”

During his presentation in the Central Park meeting room, Kilgo also addressed some of the peculiarities in state law that may not be immediately clear. Those include recent changes that allow weapons to be carried in churches that allow it, but not to the polls.

“Somebody really smart looked at it, and said, ‘Hold on, I can carry in my church. I can’t carry where I vote. What if I vote in my church,’” he said.

“So the [Georgia] General Assembly went back last summer and changed the definition of a polling place, it’s only a polling place when you can vote.”

In response to a question from the crowd of about 50, Kilgo addressed another wrinkle in the law. This one involves those who are old enough to own handguns, as long as they are bought in a private sale, but not old enough to have a weapon carry license.

“In order to carry in another person’s vehicle, you have to be eligible for a license, which means 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds are not,” Kilgo said. “If they’re carrying in a car that you provide for them, unless their name is on the title, they’re in another person’s car, which means they’re in violation of the law.”

The United Tea Party of Georgia meets three times each month, in Lawrenceville, Cumming and Suwanee. For more information and meeting dates and times, go online at www.teaparty.ga.