--- title: HB 472. Crimes and offenses; add certain facilities of the Geo. L. Smith II Georgia World Congress Center Authority to the locations in which the carrying of weapons or long guns is prohibited collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb472 cite_as: HB 472, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb472 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb472.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb472/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70389 date: 2025-02-20 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb471.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb473.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb472.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 472 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-18 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Rick Jasperse - Clint Crowe - Ron Stephens - Scott Holcomb - Kimberly New - Marcus Wiedower text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB472/2025 upstream_id: 1974408 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - gun laws - weapons carry restrictions - Georgia World Congress Center - public venue security --- # HB 472. Crimes and offenses; add certain facilities of the Geo. L. Smith II Georgia World Congress Center Authority to the locations in which the carrying of weapons or long guns is prohibited ## Text House Bill 472 By: Representatives Jasperse of the 11th, Crowe of the 118th, Stephens of the 164th, Holcomb of the 101st, New of the 40th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Code Section 16-11-127 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to carrying weapons or long guns in unauthorized locations, so as to add certain facilities of the Geo. L. Smith II Georgia World Congress Center Authority to the locations in which the carrying of weapons or long guns is prohibited; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Code Section 16-11-127 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to carrying weapons or long guns in unauthorized locations, is amended in subsection (b) by striking "or" at the end of paragraph (6), by replacing the period with "; or" at the end of paragraph (7), and by adding a new paragraph to read as follows: "(8) Within facilities of the Geo. L. Smith II Georgia World Congress Center Authority, as described in Code Section 10-9-14.1, which are enclosed by fencing that is at least 8 feet in height and includes prominent postings of notice of such restrictions at all access points; provided, however, that such facility is not a location where vehicles are permitted to park." SECTION 2. 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. A Georgia House bill would add certain fenced facilities of the Geo. L. Smith II Georgia World Congress Center Authority to the list of places where carrying weapons or long guns is banned under state law. ### Plain-language summary Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-127) already lists specific locations where people are not allowed to carry weapons or long guns, such as certain government buildings and secured areas. This bill adds a new location to that list: facilities of the Geo. L. Smith II Georgia World Congress Center Authority that are enclosed by fencing at least 8 feet tall and marked with clear signs about the restriction at every entrance. The ban would only apply to areas that meet those fencing and signage conditions, and specifically excludes any part of the facility where vehicles are allowed to park. The bill makes only this one change to the existing weapons law and repeals any conflicting laws, but does not state a separate effective date beyond the standard process for new Georgia legislation. ### What it does - Adds Georgia World Congress Center Authority facilities described in O.C.G.A. § 10-9-14.1 to the list of places where carrying weapons or long guns is illegal. - Limits the new restriction to areas enclosed by fencing at least 8 feet high with visible warning signs posted at every access point. - Excludes any part of the facility used for vehicle parking from the new weapons restriction. - Makes technical wording changes to the existing law's list format (changing punctuation between paragraphs) to fit in the new restricted location. ### Who it affects People who carry firearms or long guns, whether openly or with a weapons carry license, and visitors, employees, and event attendees at Geo. L. Smith II Georgia World Congress Center Authority facilities in Atlanta, which host large public events, conventions, and gatherings. ### Why it matters Anyone attending or working at qualifying Georgia World Congress Center facilities would be barred from carrying weapons or long guns into fenced, clearly marked areas, extending Georgia's existing restricted-carry list to a major public event venue while leaving parking areas unaffected. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 16-11-127(b) by adding paragraph (8), naming Geo. L. Smith II Georgia World Congress Center Authority facilities described in O.C.G.A. § 10-9-14.1 as a restricted carry location. - The restriction applies only where the facility is enclosed by fencing at least 8 feet high and has prominent postings of the restriction at all access points. - The restriction explicitly does not apply to areas of the facility where vehicles are permitted to park. - Section 2 repeals any existing laws that conflict with this change. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-18) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-20) - Sponsors: Rick Jasperse, Clint Crowe, Ron Stephens, Scott Holcomb, Kimberly New, Marcus Wiedower - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70389 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb472.md?full=1