HB 1127: Crimes; offense of unlawful possession of parts of a machine gun; provide

Georgia law already restricts possession of machine guns and other dangerous weapons under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-121. This bill rewrites the definition of 'machine gun' so it covers any weapon that shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily converted to shoot more than one shot per trigger pull without reloading, replacing the old six-shot threshold. It also adds a brand-new definition for 'parts of a machine gun,' covering frames, receivers, conversion parts, and any combination of parts from which a machine gun could be assembled. The bill then creates a new crime, unlawful possession of parts of a machine gun, in a new Code section 16-11-123.1. Anyone who knowingly possesses such parts, defined broadly to include manufacturing, obtaining, receiving, selling, or using them, could face one to five years in prison. The bill also adds an exemption for manufacturers federally licensed under the Gun Control Act and National Firearms Act to make and stock machine guns.

• Lowers the legal threshold for what counts as a 'machine gun' from more than six shots to more than one shot fired automatically without manual reloading.
• Expands the machine gun definition to include weapons that 'can be readily converted to shoot' automatically, not just weapons already designed that way.
• Creates a new definition of 'parts of a machine gun,' covering frames, receivers, conversion parts, and combinations of parts that could be assembled into a machine gun.
• Creates a new crime of unlawfully possessing parts of a machine gun, punishable by one to five years in prison.
• Defines 'possession' broadly to include manufacturing, obtaining, receiving, selling, offering for sale, or using the parts.
• Exempts manufacturers federally licensed under the Gun Control Act of 1968 and National Firearms Act from the new possession ban.

Gun owners, gun parts sellers, and firearms manufacturers in Georgia are affected, especially anyone who owns pistol conversion devices, machine gun receivers, or component parts. Federally licensed machine gun manufacturers are specifically exempted. Prosecutors and courts would apply the new crime and penalty.

People who currently own certain firearm parts, such as conversion devices or receivers, could face new felony exposure of one to five years in prison even without a complete machine gun. The lowered shot threshold also broadens which weapons already count as machine guns under Georgia law.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 16-11-121 to redefine 'machine gun' as firing more than one shot automatically per trigger pull, down from six, and adds weapons 'readily converted to shoot' automatically.
• Section 1 also adds a new definition of 'parts of a machine gun,' including frames, receivers, pistol-conversion parts, and any assemblable combination of parts.
• Section 2 creates new Code Section 16-11-123.1, making knowing possession of machine gun parts a crime punishable by one to five years in prison.
• Section 2 defines 'possession' to include manufacturing, obtaining, receiving, selling, offering for sale, or using the parts.
• Section 3 amends the exemptions in O.C.G.A. § 16-11-124 to exclude federally licensed machine gun manufacturers acting under the Gun Control Act of 1968 and National Firearms Act.
• Section 4 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-02-04House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-03House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-02House Hopper (House)

• Omari Crawford (D, HD-089)Primary sponsor
• Anne Westbrook (D, HD-163)
• Mary Oliver (D, HD-084)
• Scott Holcomb (D, HD-101)
• Inga Willis (D, HD-055)
• Yasmin Neal (D, HD-079)

• gun laws
• machine guns
• weapons possession crimes
• firearm regulations