HB 207: Firearms; storage within a motor vehicle or vessel; provide

Right now, Georgia law lets a person who owns a home, property, or business keep a gun there and also lets a 'lawful weapons carrier' transport a handgun or long gun in a private vehicle without a specific locking requirement. House Bill 207 rewrites Georgia's carrying and possession law (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-126) so that motor vehicles are removed from the list of places where a gun can simply be kept unlocked, and instead requires that any handgun or long gun transported in a private vehicle be kept in a locked compartment, locked container, or locked gun rack. It adds a matching rule for boats, requiring guns in a private vessel to be in a locked compartment or locked container. The bill also updates the school safety zone exceptions (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-127.1) so that guns legally stored in a vehicle under the new locked-storage rule remain exempt when a parent picks up or drops off a student, or when a teacher's vehicle is on school property. Violating the new storage requirement becomes a form of unlawful carrying of a weapon, punishable as a misdemeanor with up to a $500 fine for a first offense and as a felony with two to five years in prison for a second offense within five years.

• Removes motor vehicles from the list of places (home, property, business) where a person can keep a gun without a locking requirement under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-126.
• Requires that any handgun or long gun transported in a private passenger vehicle be kept in a locked compartment, locked container, or locked firearms rack.
• Adds a new rule requiring guns transported in a private vessel (boat) to be kept in a locked compartment or locked container.
• Makes it a criminal offense of unlawful carrying of a weapon to transport a gun in a vehicle without meeting the new locked-storage requirement.
• Sets the penalty for a first offense as a misdemeanor with a fine up to $500.00, and for a second offense within five years as a felony punishable by two to five years in prison.
• Updates the school safety zone exceptions so guns stored under the new locked rules remain exempt for parents picking up students and for authorized teachers and staff.

Gun owners who keep firearms in their cars or boats, lawful weapons carriers who transport handguns or long guns, parents who pick up or drop off students at school in a vehicle carrying a firearm, and teachers and school staff who are authorized to carry weapons on school property.

Georgians who currently keep a firearm loose in a vehicle or boat would need to secure it in a locked compartment, container, or rack, or risk being charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon, a misdemeanor carrying a fine up to $500 for a first offense and a felony for later offenses. The change also affects how school pickup and staff carrying exceptions are defined.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 16-11-126(a) to remove motor vehicles from places where a firearm can be kept without a locking requirement, leaving home, property, and place of business.
• Section 1 rewrites subsection (c) into two paragraphs: (c)(1) requires locked compartment, locked container, or locked firearms rack storage for guns transported in a private passenger vehicle, and (c)(2) applies the same locked storage requirement to private vessels.
• Section 1 amends subsection (g) so that violating the new vehicle or vessel storage requirement in subsection (c) counts as unlawful carrying of a weapon.
• Section 1 amends subsection (h) to set the first-offense penalty as a misdemeanor with a fine not to exceed $500.00, and repeats the existing felony penalty of two to five years in prison for a second offense within five years.
• Section 2 updates the school safety zone exceptions in O.C.G.A. § 16-11-127.1(c)(7) and (8) so vehicles with guns stored under the new locked-storage rule remain exempt when picking up or dropping off students.
• Section 2 updates paragraph (17) so teachers and other authorized school personnel must store weapons in a vehicle according to the new locked-storage requirement to keep their exemption.

1. 2025-02-04House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-03House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-01-30House Hopper (House)

• Omari Crawford (D, HD-089)Primary sponsor
• Mary Oliver (D, HD-084)
• Anne Westbrook (D, HD-163)
• Inga Willis (D, HD-055)
• Michelle Au (D, HD-050)

• gun laws
• firearm storage
• school safety zones
• concealed carry
• criminal penalties