Georgia Gun Laws
Gun Laws Overview
RIFLES & SHOTGUNS | HANDGUNS | |
---|---|---|
Permit to Purchase | No | No |
Registration of Firearms | No | No |
Licensing of Owners | No | No |
Permit to Carry | No | Yes |
The list and map below are included as a tool to assist you in validating your information. We have made every effort to report the information correctly, however reciprocity and recognition agreements are subject to frequent change. The information is not intended as legal advice or a restatement of law and does not include: restrictions that may be placed on non-resident permits, individuals under the age of 21, qualifying permit classes, and/or any other factor which may limit reciprocity and/or recognition. For any particular situation, a licensed local attorney must be consulted for an accurate interpretation. YOU MUST ABIDE WITH ALL LAWS: STATE, FEDERAL AND LOCAL. |
STATE STATUS | |
---|---|
Castle Doctrine | Enacted |
No-Net Loss | Enacted |
Right to Carry Confidentiality | Provisions Enacted |
Right to Carry in Restaurants | Legal |
Right To Carry Laws | No Permit Required |
Right To Carry Reciprocity and Recognition | True Reciprocity |
Right to Keep & Bear Arms State Constitutional Provisions | With Provisions |
Laws on Purchase, Possession and Carrying of Firearms
Purchase
No state permit is required for the purchase or possession of a shotgun, rifle, or handgun. MORE |
Possession
Possession by a Minor (Under 18) It is unlawful for a minor to possess a handgun or for a person to furnish a handgun to a minor. Georgia Code 16-11-132, 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 MORE |
Carry
Pursuant to Georgia Code 16-11-126(a), 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 weapon or long gun on his or her property or inside his or her home, motor vehicle, or place of business without a valid weapons carry license. Reciprocity A person licensed to carry a handgun in any state whose laws recognize a Georgia license is authorized to carry a handgun in Georgia, but only while the licensee is not a Georgia resident. The license holder shall carry the handgun in compliance with Georgia laws. Georgia Code 16-11-129(e) and https://law.georgia.gov/firearm-license-reciprocity-0 * Virginia and Wisconsin recognize only those Georgia licenses issued to persons 21 years of age or older. Georgia recognizes all Virginia and Wisconsin licenses. MORE |
National Firearms Act "Firearms"
Georgia Code 16-11-122 and 16-11-124(4) prohibit the possession of a short barreled rifle or shotgun, silencer, explosive device, or machine gun.1 Exempt from this prohibition are persons authorized to possess such an item because he has registered it in accordance with the National Firearms Act. Also exempt is any such item that has been modified to the extent that it is inoperative - an example of the requisite modification is a weapon with the barrel “filled with lead.” |
Range Protection
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. MORE |
Miscellaneous Provisions
It is unlawful to: point a firearm at another person; discharge a firearm within 50 yards of a public highway or street; discharge a firearm on the property of another person without the property owner’s permission; possess a firearm during the commission of most crimes; while hunting, use a firearm in a manner that endangers another person; or discharge a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Preemption Georgia Code 16-11-173 prohibits a county or municipal corporation, from regulating in any manner, by zoning, ordinance, resolution, or other enactment, gun shows, the possession, ownership, transport, carrying, transfer, sale, purchase, licensing, or registration of firearms, components of firearms, firearms dealers, or dealers in firearms components. MORE |
Footnote 1
Georgia Code 16-11-121 has an unusual definition of machine gun: “. . . any weapon which shoots or is designed to shoot, automatically, more than six shots, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.” Regardless of Georgia’s definition, federal law strictly governs, among many other things, weapons which fire more than one shot by a single function of the trigger. |
Footnote 2
For the purposes of Georgia Code 16-11-132(a), a handgun is considered loaded if there is a cartridge in the chamber or cylinder of the handgun. |
Source: Georgia statutes relating to firearms are: Ga. Code 16 -11-120 et seq. |
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Monday, November 8, 2004
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Monday, November 1, 2004
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Friday, October 22, 2004
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Tuesday, October 12, 2004
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Friday, October 1, 2004
Roy Rhodes had closed his shop and was returning home just after midnight when he was attacked from ...
Thursday, September 2, 2004
Sen. Zell Miller used his speech at the GOP National Convention to answer Democratic critics unhappy with his ...
Wednesday, September 1, 2004
When two armed home invaders tried to force their way into an Atlanta, Ga., home, they found that ...
Wednesday, September 1, 2004
Jerry Lee Bowman was at his Hinesville, Ga., home on a day off after field training at Fort ...
Friday, August 6, 2004
A Primary Runoff Election will be held in State Senate District 31 and State Senate District 37. Please ...