HB1: HB1 Pediatric Health Safe Storage Act; enact

Georgia law already allows children to lawfully possess firearms in certain situations (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-132), such as hunting or supervised shooting. This bill adds a new offense for situations outside those exceptions: if a person acts with criminal negligence by failing to secure a loaded firearm, or by leaving it somewhere they knew or should have known a child could reach, and a child then gets access to it, that person could be charged. The bill defines key terms, including 'child' (under 18), 'secure' (locking the gun up or disabling it with a trigger lock), and 'readily dischargeable firearm' (loaded, even without a round chambered). It sets up affirmative defenses for supervised lawful use, self-defense by the child, or trespassing. Penalties range from a misdemeanor up to a 'misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature' if the child is killed or seriously hurt. Firearm dealers would also have to post a specific warning sign about unsecured firearms.

• Creates a new crime, making a firearm accessible to a child, when a person negligently fails to secure a loaded gun or leaves it where a child could reach it.
• Defines 'secure' to mean using a locked container, a trigger lock, or similar method to keep a loaded firearm away from children.
• Sets penalties as a misdemeanor generally, rising to a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature if the child discharges the gun and someone dies or is seriously hurt.
• Creates a seven day delay before arrest when the person is a family member of a child who was killed or seriously injured discharging the firearm.
• Provides affirmative defenses for supervised lawful use, a child's lawful self-defense, or access gained by trespassing.
• Requires firearm dealers to post a specific warning sign about the illegality of storing or abandoning unsecured firearms where children can reach them, with violations also punishable as a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.

The bill affects gun owners and anyone responsible for storing firearms around children, parents and other family members of children, and licensed firearm dealers, who would have to post a required warning sign in their stores or face criminal penalties.

Gun owners with children in their homes could face criminal charges, including elevated misdemeanor charges, if a child gets hold of an unsecured loaded firearm and someone is hurt or killed. Dealers would need to update signage, and prosecutors would gain a new specific charge to use in these cases.

• Section 1 gives the bill the short title 'Pediatric Health Safe Storage Act.'
• Section 2 adds new Code Section 16-11-132.1 to Georgia's firearms law (O.C.G.A. Title 16, Chapter 11, Article 4, Part 3).
• Subsection (a) defines 'child,' 'dealer,' 'family,' 'readily dischargeable firearm,' and 'secure.'
• Subsection (b) establishes the offense of making a firearm accessible to a child through criminal negligence in failing to secure it or leaving it accessible.
• Subsection (c) lists affirmative defenses: supervised lawful use, the child's lawful self-defense, or access gained through trespassing.
• Subsection (d) sets penalties: a misdemeanor generally, a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature if the child is killed or seriously hurt, and a seven-day arrest delay for certain family members.
• Subsection (e) requires firearm dealers to post a specific warning sign and makes violation a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
• Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-01-15House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-01-14House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-01-13House Hopper (House)

• Michelle Au (D, HD-050)Primary sponsor
• Sharon Cooper (R, HD-045)
• Mary Oliver (D, HD-084)
• Omari Crawford (D, HD-089)
• Yasmin Neal (D, HD-079)
• Anne Westbrook (D, HD-163)

• gun storage laws
• child safety
• firearm dealers
• criminal penalties
• gun owner responsibility