---
title: HB 1. Pediatric Health Safe Storage Act; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1
cite_as: HB 1, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69281
date: 2025-01-15
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb2.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-01-13
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Michelle Au
- Sharon Cooper
- Mary Oliver
- Omari Crawford
- Yasmin Neal
- Anne Westbrook
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1/2025
upstream_id: 1916703
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- gun safety
- child safety
- firearm storage laws
- criminal penalties
- gun dealer regulations
---
# HB 1. Pediatric Health Safe Storage Act; enact
## Text
House Bill 1
By: Representative Au of the 50th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 3 of Article 4 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to carrying and possession of firearms, so as to establish the offense of
making a firearm accessible to a child; to provide for definitions; to provide for exceptions
and affirmative defenses; to provide for criminal penalties; to require a notice by certain
firearm dealers; to provide for a short title; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Pediatric Health Safe Storage Act."
SECTION 2.
Part 3 of Article 4 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to carrying and possession of firearms, is amended by adding a new Code section to
read as follows:
"16-11-132.1.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Child' means a person younger than 18 years of age.
(2) 'Dealer' shall have the same meaning as provided for under Code Section 16-11-171.
(3) 'Family' means a parent, grandparent, or sibling.
(4) 'Readily dischargeable firearm' means a firearm that is loaded with ammunition,
whether or not a round is in the chamber.
(5) 'Secure' means to take steps that a reasonable person would believe sufficient to
prevent the access to a readily dischargeable firearm by a child, including, but not limited
to, placing a firearm in a locked container or temporarily rendering the firearm inoperable
by a trigger lock or other means.
(b) Except where possession of a firearm by a child is lawful under Code Section
16-11-132, a person commits the offense of making a firearm accessible to a child if such
child gains access to a readily dischargeable firearm, and the person with criminal
negligence:
(1) Failed to secure the firearm; or
(2) Left the firearm in a place to which the person knew or should have known the child
could gain access.
(c) It shall be an affirmative defense to prosecution under this Code section that the child's
access to the firearm:
(1) Was supervised by a person older than 18 years of age and was for hunting, sporting,
or other lawful purposes;
(2) Consisted of lawful defense by the child of people or property; or
(3) Was gained by entering property in violation of the law.
(d)(1) Except as provided under paragraph (2) of this subsection, a person convicted
pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(2) A person convicted pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section where the child
discharges the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury to himself or herself or
another person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
(3) No person who commits a violation of subsection (b) of this Code section shall be
arrested before the seventh day after the date on which the offense was committed if:
(A) Such person is family of the child who discharged the firearm; and
(B) The child, in discharging the firearm, caused the death of or serious injury to such
child.
(e)(1) A dealer shall post in a conspicuous position on the premises where the dealer
conducts business a sign that contains the following warning in block letters not less than
one inch in height:
'IT IS UNLAWFUL TO STORE, TRANSPORT, OR ABANDON AN UNSECURED
FIREARM IN A PLACE WHERE CHILDREN CAN OBTAIN ACCESS TO THE
FIREARM.'
(2) A person convicted pursuant to subsection (e) of this Code section shall be guilty of
a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature."
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
House Bill 1 would create a new Georgia crime for adults who fail to secure loaded guns from children, with penalties that increase if a child is hurt or killed, and would require gun dealers to post warning signs.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law currently allows children to lawfully possess firearms in certain situations, such as hunting, but does not specifically criminalize an adult's failure to keep a loaded gun away from a child. House Bill 1, called the Pediatric Health Safe Storage Act, would add a new section to Georgia's firearms law (O.C.G.A. Title 16) making it a crime to negligently leave a 'readily dischargeable' firearm (one loaded with ammunition) where a child under 18 can get to it.
The bill defines 'secure' storage, such as locked containers or trigger locks, and creates affirmative defenses for supervised hunting or lawful self-defense by the child. A basic violation is a misdemeanor, but it becomes a more serious 'misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature' if the child fires the gun and someone is killed or seriously hurt. Close family members would get a seven-day arrest delay in cases where the child was killed or seriously injured. Firearm dealers would also have to post a specific warning sign about unsecured firearm storage.
### What it does
- Creates a new crime of making a firearm accessible to a child when an adult negligently fails to secure a loaded gun or leaves it somewhere a child can reach it.
- Defines key terms like 'child' (under 18), 'secure,' and 'readily dischargeable firearm' (loaded with ammunition) for purposes of this new law.
- Sets up affirmative defenses, including supervised hunting or sporting use and lawful defense of people or property by the child.
- Increases the penalty to a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature (a more serious misdemeanor) if the child discharges the gun and someone dies or is seriously hurt.
- Delays arrest for seven days for a family member of a child who died or was seriously injured after discharging the firearm.
- Requires firearm dealers to post a specific warning sign about the illegality of unsecured firearm storage, with violations also punishable as a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
### Who it affects
Gun owners with children in their homes, parents, grandparents, and siblings of children involved in shooting incidents, children who may lawfully use firearms for hunting or sport under supervision, and licensed firearm dealers who would need to post new warning signage at their places of business.
### Why it matters
Adults who keep loaded firearms in homes with children could face new criminal liability if a child gains access, with harsher charges possible if a shooting causes death or injury. Dealers face new signage duties, and grieving family members get a short arrest delay in the most tragic cases.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 names the bill the 'Pediatric Health Safe Storage Act.'
- Section 2 adds new Code Section 16-11-132.1, defining 'child,' 'dealer,' 'family,' 'readily dischargeable firearm,' and 'secure.'
- Subsection (b) creates the offense: a person acts with criminal negligence by failing to secure a firearm or leaving it somewhere a child could access it.
- Subsection (c) lists affirmative defenses, including supervised hunting/sporting use, lawful self-defense by the child, and access gained through trespassing.
- Subsection (d) sets penalties: a basic misdemeanor, or a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature if the child's discharge of the firearm causes death or serious injury.
- Subsection (d)(3) bars arrest for seven days after the offense if the accused is family of a child who died or was seriously injured from discharging the firearm.
- Subsection (e) requires firearm dealers to post a specific warning sign in block letters at least one inch tall, with violations treated as a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-01-13)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-01-15)
- Sponsors: Michelle Au, Sharon Cooper, Mary Oliver, Omari Crawford, Yasmin Neal, Anne Westbrook
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69281
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1.md?full=1