2020 Georgia Code
Title 16 - Crimes and Offenses
Chapter 11 - Offenses Against Public Order and Safety
Article 4 - Dangerous Instrumentalities and Practices
Part 3 - Carrying and Possession of Firearms
§ 16-11-138. Defense of Self or Others as Absolute Defense
Defense of self or others, as contemplated by and provided for under Article 2 of Chapter 3 of this title, shall be an absolute defense to any violation under this part.
(Code 1981, §16-11-138, enacted by Ga. L. 2014, p. 599, § 1-10/HB 60; Ga. L. 2015, p. 5, § 16/HB 90.)
Editor's notes.- Ga. L. 2014, p. 599, § 1-1/HB 60, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Safe Carry Protection Act.'"
Law reviews.- For article on the 2014 enactment of this Code section, see 31 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 47 (2014).
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Possession of firearm by felon in self-defense.
- Evidence supported the defendant's contention that the defendant shot the victim in self-defense; therefore, if the defendant's possession of a firearm at the shooting was justified under the rule created under O.C.G.A. §§ 16-3-21 and16-11-138, then it could not be said that the defendant was committing a felony when the defendant shot the victim, and the preclusive bar of § 16-3-21(b)(2) would not apply. However, the trial court needed to consider whether possession of the firearm before or after the shooting could be prosecuted. State v. Remy, 308 Ga. 296, 840 S.E.2d 385 (2020).
Because the defendant shot the first victim in February 2014, and the Safe Carry Protection Act of 2014, Ga. L. 2014, p. 599 et seq., did not become law until July 2014, the Safe Carry Protection Act did not apply, and the defendant was not entitled to any instruction about whether the defendant, a convicted felon, might have been justified in possessing a firearm in February 2014. Brown v. State, Ga. , S.E.2d (Aug. 10, 2020).
Defense of self may be asserted in case of unlawful possession of weapon.
- O.C.G.A. §§ 16-3-21(a) and16-11-138 in combination effectively provide this rule of law: A person is justified in threatening or using force against another, or in possessing a weapon in circumstances otherwise prohibited under the Code, when and to the extent that he or she reasonably believes that such threat or force or conduct otherwise prohibited is necessary to defend himself or herself or a third person against such other's imminent use of unlawful force. Johnson v. State, 308 Ga. 141, 839 S.E.2d 521 (2020).
PART 4 ANTITERRORISTIC TRAINING
16-11-150. Short title.
This part shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Antiterroristic Training Act."
(Code 1981, §16-11-150, enacted by Ga. L. 1987, p. 866, § 1.)
Cross references.- Georgia Emergency Management Act of 1981, § 38-3-1 et seq.
