2021 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
§ 16-11-125.1. Definitions

As used in this part, the term:

1. "Handgun" means a firearm of any description, loaded or unloaded, from which any shot, bullet, or other missile can be discharged by an action of an explosive where the length of the barrel, not including any revolving, detachable, or magazine breech, does not exceed 12 inches; provided, however, that the term "handgun" shall not include a gun which discharges a single shot of 0.46 centimeter or less in diameter.
2. "Knife"means a cutting instrument designed for the purpose of offense and defense consisting of a blade that is greater than 12 inches in length which is fastened to a handle.
3. "License holder" means a person who holds a valid weapons carry license.
4. "Long gun" means a firearm with a barrel length of at least 18 inches and overall length of at least 26 inches designed or made and intended to be fired from the shoulder and designed or made to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed:
   1. Shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger or from which any shot, bullet, or other missile can be discharged; or
   2. Metallic cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifle bore for each single pull of the trigger;

      provided, however, that the term "long gun" shall not include a gun which discharges a single shot of 0.46 centimeter or less in diameter.

5. "Weapon" means a knife or handgun.
6. "Weapons carry license" or "license" means a license issued pursuant to Code Section 16-11-129.

(Code 1981, §16-11-125.1, enacted by Ga. L. 2010, p. 963, § 1-1/SB 308; Ga. L. 2017, p. 555, § 3/HB 292; Ga. L. 2018, p. 1112, § 16/SB 365.)

The 2017 amendment, effective May 8, 2017, substituted "12 inches" for "five inches" in paragraph (2).

The 2018 amendment, effective May 8, 2018, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted "0.46 centimeter or less" for ".46 centimeters or less" near the end of paragraph (1) and in the undesignated language at the end of subparagraph (4)(B).

- Ga. L. 2010, p. 963, § 3-1/SB 308, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that this Code section shall apply to all offenses committed on and after June 4, 2010, and shall not affect any prosecutions for acts occurring before June 4, 2010, and shall not act as an abatement of any such prosecution.

Ga. L. 2017, p. 555, § 1/HB 292, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "The General Assembly finds that:

"(1) The ownership of firearms is a clear and explicit right protected by the United States Constitution and the Constitution of this state;

"(2) Access to financial services provides for the functioning of a firearms industry and, thus, the constitutionally protected right of firearm ownership; and

"(3) The provisions of this Act are intended to implement the constitutional protections provided for under the law."

- For article, "Crimes and Offenses," see 27 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 131 (2011).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Evidence sufficient for adjudication of possession of small-caliber revolver.

- Adjudication of delinquency was affirmed because the officer's testimony that the weapon was inside the juvenile's pocket and the description of the weapon as a small-caliber revolver was sufficient evidence from which the juvenile court could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that the juvenile committed the crime charged. In the Interest of A. P., 348 Ga. App. 638, 824 S.E.2d 94 (2019). For article on the veto of proposed legislation allowing the legal possession of a concealed firearm for individuals with a Georgia Weapons Carry License on property owned or leased by a technical school, college, or university, see 33 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 21 (2016).

- After the motion to suppress hearing was converted to an adjudicatory hearing, the state retained the burden of proof to present evidence to support each element of the weapons possession offenses of possession of a handgun by a person under the age of 18, and possession and carrying of a handgun or a long gun by persons prohibited by law from such possession, but the state failed to carry the state's burden of proof to establish the elements of the weapons possession offenses by failing to show that the weapon met the definition of a handgun or long gun; furthermore, the state's failure to raise an objection to the procedure and the state's acquiesce to it did not constitute induced error or relieve the state of the state's burden of proof. In the Interest of A. A., 334 Ga. App. 37, 778 S.E.2d 28 (2015).

Cited in GeorgiaCarry.Org, Inc. v. Atlanta Botanical Garden, Inc., 306 Ga. 829, 834 S.E.2d 27 (2019).