Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

A 19 year old is an adult, NOT a minor.

When purchasing firearms in Georgia, you do not need a permit.

You must be at least 18 years old to purchase an possess a firearm, unless you meet one of the following criterion and a parent or legal guardian furnishes the firearm:

�You are attending a hunter's eduction or firearm safety course.

�You are engaging in practice or target shooting at an established shooting range.

�You are engaging in organized competition or practicing for performance by a groups organized under 26 U.S.C. 501.

�You are hunting or fishing with a valid license and you are engaging in legal hunting or fishing and have permission of the land owner, at which time you can carry a loaded pistol or revolver, open and exposed.

�When you are traveling from any of the above activities, but the gun must be unloaded.

�If you are on the properly under the control of a parent or legal guardian with the permission of the parent or guardian to possess the gun.

�The above exceptions do not apply to any minor who has been convicted of a forcible crime.

You cannot purchase, possess, carry, transfer, or receive a firearm if you:

�Have been convicted of a felony.

�Have been convicted of any crime against or involving another person

�Have been convicted of theft from a building or a vehicle.

�Have been convicted of any crime involving possession, manufacture, delivery, distribution, dispensing, administering, selling, or possession with the intent to distribute any controlled substance.

�Have been convicted of any crime involving the trafficking of cocaine, marijuana, or illegal drugs.

You cannot carry any firearm, whether openly or concealed, without a license to carry a firearm. With any rule or law, there are exceptions, as stated below.

The exceptions to carry a gun or concealable firearm without a license includes:

�Carrying a firearm, openly or concealed, in your own home or place of business.

�Transporting a firearm that is unloaded and in an enclosed case, separated from ammunition as long as you are allowed to legally obtain a firearm.

�Transporting a loaded firearm in a private vehicle as long as it is carried openly and fully exposed or is in the glove compartment console or a similar compartment.

�Carrying a firearm while hunting, fishing, or sport shooting, as long as you have written permission from the land owner and as long as the handgun is carried in a fully exposed manner.

Why is this a probate question? Probate concerns the transfer of assets from the dead to the living.

Gun permits are adjunct to the criminal laws and Georgia is no exception. Rules regarding the carrying/use of concealed are found in Georgia's penal code. Here is the relevant statute:

16-11-126. Having or carrying handguns, long guns, or other weapons; license requirement; exceptions for homes, motor vehicles, and other locations and conditions; penalties for violations

(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.

(b) 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.

(c) 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.

(d) 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 16-11-135.

(e) 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.

(f) 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.

(g) Notwithstanding Code Sections 12-3-10, 27-3-1.1, 27-3-6, and 16-12-122 through 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.

(h) (1) No person shall carry a weapon without a valid weapons carry license unless he or she meets one of the exceptions to having such license as provided in subsections (a) through (g) of this Code section.

(2) A person commits the offense of carrying a weapon without a license when he or she violates the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection.

(i) Upon conviction of the offense of carrying a weapon without a valid weapons carry license, a person shall be punished as follows:

(1) For the first offense, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; and

(2) For the second offense within five years, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained, and for any subsequent offense, he or she shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned for not less than two years and not more than five years.