Georgia State Gun Laws and Regulations Explained | NRA-ILA (2024)

Employee Parking Lot Storage

Pursuant to Georgia Code 16-11-135, no private or public employer, including the state and its political subdivisions, shall condition employment upon any agreement by a prospective employee that prohibits an employee from entering the parking lot and access thereto when the employee’s privately owned motor vehicle contains a firearm that is locked out of sight within the trunk, glove box, or other enclosed compartment or area within such privately owned motor vehicle, provided that the employee possesses a Georgia firearms license.

Exceptions to this include, searches by certified law enforcement officers pursuant to valid search warrants or valid warrantless searches based upon probable cause under exigent circ*mstances; vehicles owned or leased by an employer; any situation in which a reasonable person would believe that accessing a locked vehicle of an employee is necessary to prevent an immediate threat to human health, life, or safety; when an employee consents to a search of his or her locked privately owned vehicle by licensed private security officers for loss prevention purposes based on probable cause that the employee unlawfully possesses employer property.

Areas where this shall not apply include, an employer providing employees with a secure parking area which restricts general public access through the use of a gate, security station, security officers, or other similar means which limit public access; any penal institution, correctional institution, detention facility, diversion center, jail, or similar place of confinement or confinement alternative; facilities associated with electric generation; any United States Department of Defense contractor, if such contractor operates any facility on or contiguous with a United States military base or installation or within one mile of an airport; an employee who is restricted from carrying or possessing a firearm on the employer’s premises due to a completed or pending disciplinary action; parking lots contiguous to facilities providing natural gas transmission, liquid petroleum transmission, water storage and supply, and law enforcement services determined to be so vital to the State of Georgia, by a written determination of the Georgia Department of Homeland Security; any area used for parking on a temporary basis.

Dealer Background Checks

A gun dealer shall not sell or deliver any handgun to another person, other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer or licensed collector, until an instant criminal history background check is conducted and approved by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The information required to be provided includes one photo identification, name, birth date, gender, race, social security or other identification number of such potential buyer or transferee. A $5.00 fee to cover the costs of each check will be collected. Antiques and replicas, curio and relic firearms as defined by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and holders of a permit or license to carry a pistol are exempt from the instant check.Georgia Code 16-11-172(a)

Possession by a Minor

Pursuant to Georgia Code 16-11-132, it is unlawful to furnish a handgun to a person under 18 or for a person under 18 to possess a handgun.

Under the following circ*mstances, a parent or legal guardian may furnish, and a minor may possess, a handgun: attending a hunter education or firearms safety course; engaging in practice or target shooting at an established shooting range authorized by the jurisdiction where it is located; engaging in organized competition or practicing for a performance by a group organized under 26 U.S.C. 501 (c)(3); lawful hunting or fishing with the permission of the land owner if, whenever the handgun is loaded, it is carried only in an open and fully exposed manner; traveling to and from the above activities if the handgun is not loaded²; or on real property under the control of the minor’s parent, legal guardian or grandparent with the permission of the minor’s parent or legal guardian to possess the handgun. The above exceptions do not apply to a minor who has been convicted of a forcible crime or adjudicated delinquent for an offense which would constitute a forcible crime.

Possession by a Felon

It is unlawful for any person convicted of a felony to possess, receive, or transport any firearm.Georgia Code 16-11-131

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Employee Parking Lot Storage

Pursuant to Georgia Code 16-11-135, no private or public employer, including the state and its political subdivisions, shall condition employment upon any agreement by a prospective employee that prohibits an employee from entering the parking lot and access thereto when the employee’s privately owned motor vehicle contains a firearm that is locked out of sight within the trunk, glove box, or other enclosed compartment or area within such privately owned motor vehicle, provided that the employee possesses a Georgia firearms license.

Exceptions to this include, searches by certified law enforcement officers pursuant to valid search warrants or valid warrantless searches based upon probable cause under exigent circ*mstances; vehicles owned or leased by an employer; any situation in which a reasonable person would believe that accessing a locked vehicle of an employee is necessary to prevent an immediate threat to human health, life, or safety; when an employee consents to a search of his or her locked privately owned vehicle by licensed private security officers for loss prevention purposes based on probable cause that the employee unlawfully possesses employer property.

Areas where this shall not apply include, an employer providing employees with a secure parking area which restricts general public access through the use of a gate, security station, security officers, or other similar means which limit public access; any penal institution, correctional institution, detention facility, diversion center, jail, or similar place of confinement or confinement alternative; facilities associated with electric generation; any United States Department of Defense contractor, if such contractor operates any facility on or contiguous with a United States military base or installation or within one mile of an airport; an employee who is restricted from carrying or possessing a firearm on the employer’s premises due to a completed or pending disciplinary action; parking lots contiguous to facilities providing natural gas transmission, liquid petroleum transmission, water storage and supply, and law enforcement services determined to be so vital to the State of Georgia, by a written determination of the Georgia Department of Homeland Security; any area used for parking on a temporary basis.

Possession by a Minor

A parent or legal guardian may furnish, and a minor may possess, a handgun under the following circ*mstances:

Attending a hunter education or firearms safety course; engaging in practice or target shooting at an established shooting range authorized by the jurisdiction where it is located;

Engaging in organized competition or practicing for a performance by a group organized under 26 U.S.C. 501 (c)(3); lawful hunting or fishing with the permission of the land owner if, whenever the handgun is loaded, it is carried only in an open and fully exposed manner;

Traveling to and from the above activities if the handgun is not loaded²;

On real property under the control of the minor’s parent, legal guardian or grandparent with the permission of the minor’s parent or legal guardian to possess the handgun.

The above do not apply to a minor who has been convicted of a forcible crime or adjudicated delinquent for an offense which would constitute a forcible crime.

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License to CarryExceptions

No license is required, pursuant to Georgia Code 16-11-126, for:

1. Any person who is not prohibited by law from possessing a handgun or long gun may have or carry on his or her person a long gun without a valid weapons carry license, provided that if the long gun is loaded, it shall only be carried in an open and fully exposed manner.

2.Any person who is not prohibited by law from possessing a handgun or long gun may have or carry any handgun provided that it is enclosed in a case and unloaded.

3.Any person who is not prohibited by law from possessing a handgun or long gun who is eligible for a weapons carry license may transport a handgun or long gun in any private passenger motor vehicle; provided, however, that private property owners or persons in legal control of property through a lease, rental agreement, licensing agreement, contract, or any other agreement to control access to such property shall have the right to forbid possession of a weapon or long gun on their property, except as provided in Code Section 16-22-135.

4. Any person licensed to carry a handgun or weapon in any other state whose laws recognize and give effect to a license issued pursuant to this part shall be authorized to carry a weapon in this state, but only while the licensee is not a resident of this state; provided, however, that such licensee shall carry the weapon in compliance with the laws of this state.

5.Any person with a valid hunting or fishing license on his or her person, or any person not required by law to have a hunting or fishing license, who is engaged in legal hunting, fishing, or sport shooting when the person has the permission of the owner of the land on which the activities are being conducted may have or carry on his or her person a handgun or long gun without a valid weapons carry license while hunting, fishing, or engaging in sport shooting.

6.Notwithstanding Code Sections 12-3-10, 27-3-1.1, 27-3-6,and 16-12-122through 16-12-127, any person with a valid weapons carry license may carry a weapon in all parks, historic sites, or recreational areas, as such term is defined in Code Section 12-3-10, including all publicly owned buildings located in such parks, historic sites, and recreational areas, in wildlife management areas, and on public transportation; provided, however, that a person shall not carry a handgun into a place where it is prohibited by federal law.

License Prohibitions

Georgia Code 16-11-129 prohibits the issuance of a license to:

1. Anyone under 21 years of age, unless he or she:

(i) Is at least 18 years of age;

(ii) Provides proof that he or she has completed basic training in the armed forces of the United States; and

(iii) Provides proof that he or she is actively serving in the armed forces of the United States or has been honorably discharged from such service.

2. Any person who is a fugitive from justice or who has felony charges, forcible misdemeanor or weapons violations charges pending against him.

3. Any person convicted of a felony who has not been pardoned by the President, the States Board of Pardons and Paroles, or any person or agency empowered to grant pardons.

4. Any person convicted of forcible misdemeanor who has not been free of supervision for at least five years.

5. Any person convicted of a weapons carrying violation, who has not been free of supervision for at least three years.

6. Any person who has been hospitalized for in patient treatment in any mental hospital or alcohol or drug treatment center within five years of the date of application.

7. Any person who has been convicted of a controlled substance or other dangerous drug offense.

Application Process

After the judge has received the application the applicant must go to a designated local law enforcement agency for fingerprinting. The law enforcement agency may charge a $5.00 fingerprinting fee. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation may charge a fee to cover the costs of the criminal records search. The law enforcement agency must investigate the applicant (including a federal and state criminal record check) and must report any negative findings back to the judge within 30 days. A report is not required if no derogatory information bearing on the applicant’s eligibility is discovered. The judge shall issue the license not later than 10 days after the judge receives the report of the application if no facts establishing ineligibility are found and the judge determines the applicant has met all qualifications and is of “good moral character.” If the applicant has been hospitalized at a mental hospital or alcohol or drug treatment center within 5 years of his application for a license to carry, the judge has discretion, after considering the recommendation of the Superintendent of the hospital or treatment center, to issue or deny the license. The applicant shall pay a fee of $3 to reimburse costs associated with obtaining a report.

If the applicant has been hospitalized at a mental hospital or alcohol or drug treatment center within 5 years of his application for a license to carry, the judge has discretion, after considering the recommendation of the Superintendent of the hospital or treatment center, to issue or deny the license.

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Georgia Code 41-1-9 defines a“Sport shooting range” as an area designated and operated by a person for the sport shooting of firearms and not available for such use by the general public without payment of a fee, membership contribution, or dues or by invitation of an authorized person, or any area so designated and operated by a unit of government, regardless of the terms of admission thereto.

No sport shooting range shall be or shall become a nuisance, either public or private, solely as a result of changed conditions in or around the locality of such range if the range has been in operation for one year since the date on which it commenced operation as a sport shooting range. Subsequent physical expansion of the range or expansion of the types of firearms in use at the range shall not establish a new date of commencement of operations for purposes of this Code section.

No sport shooting range or unit of government or person owning, operating, or using a sport shooting range for the sport shooting of firearms shall be subject to any action for civil or criminal liability, damages, abatement, or injunctive relief resulting from or relating to noise generated by the operation of the range if the range remains in compliance with noise control or nuisance abatement rules, regulations, statutes, or ordinances applicable to the range on the date on which it commenced operation.

No rules, regulations, statutes, or ordinances relating to noise control, noise pollution, or noise abatement adopted or enacted by a unit of government shall be applied retroactively to prohibit conduct at a sport shooting range, which conduct was lawful and being engaged in prior to the adoption or enactment of such rules, regulations, statutes, or ordinances.

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Standing to Bring Suit

The authority to bring suit and right to recover against any firearms or ammunition manufacturer, trade association, or dealer by or on behalf of any governmental unit created by or pursuant to an Act of the General Assembly or the Constitution, or any department, agency, or authority thereof, for damages, abatement or injunctive relief resulting from or relating to the lawful design, manufacture, marketing, or sale of firearms or ammunition to the public shall be reserved exclusively to the state. This paragraph shall not prohibit a political subdivision or local government authority from bringing an action against a firearms or ammunition manufacturer or dealer for breach of contract or warranty as to firearms or ammunition purchased by the political subdivision or local government authority.

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