---
title: HB 711. Georgia Firearms and Weapons Act; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb711
cite_as: HB 711, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb711
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb711.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb711/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71094
date: 2025-03-06
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12
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/hb710.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb712.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb711.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 711
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-03-03
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Sandra Scott
- Viola Davis
- Kim Schofield
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB711/2025
upstream_id: 1990374
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- gun control
- bump stocks
- weapons law
- criminal penalties
- firearms regulation
---
# HB 711. Georgia Firearms and Weapons Act; enact
## Text
House Bill 711
By: Representatives Scott of the 76th, Davis of the 87th, and Schofield of the 63rd
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
offenses against public order and safety, so as to prohibit the possession of devices which
attach to firearms to produce rapid fire; to revise and add definitions; to provide for
punishment; to provide for exceptions; to provide for conforming changes; to amend Code
Section 15-11-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to definitions relative
to the juvenile code, so as to revise a definition; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to offenses against
public order and safety, is amended by revising Part 2 of Article 4, relating to possession of
dangerous weapons, as follows:
"Part 2
16-11-120.
This part shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Firearms and Weapons Act.'
16-11-121.
As used in this part, the term:
(1) 'Dangerous weapon' means any weapon designed to injure or kill multiple personnel
in quick succession or fire undetected and includes any launcher, machine gun, rapid-fire
attachment, sawed-off rifle, sawed-off shotgun, and silencer.
(2) 'Launcher' means any weapon commonly known as a 'rocket launcher,' 'bazooka,' or
'recoilless rifle' which fires explosive or nonexplosive rockets designed to injure or kill
personnel or destroy heavy armor, or any similar weapon used for such purpose. Such
term also means The term shall also mean a weapon commonly known as a 'mortar'
which fires high explosive from a metallic cylinder and which is commonly used by the
armed forces as an antipersonnel weapon or similar weapon used for such purpose. Such
term also means The term shall also mean a weapon commonly known as a 'hand
grenade' or other similar weapon which is designed to explode and injure personnel or
similar weapon used for such purpose.
(2)(3) 'Machine gun' means any weapon which shoots or is designed, or is modified
through a rapid-fire attachment, to shoot, automatically, more than six shots, without
manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger without reloading.
(3)(4) 'Person' means any individual, partnership, company, association, or corporation.
(5) 'Rapid-fire attachment' means any device designed or redesigned, made or remade
to:
(A) Replace or supplement a weapon's buttstock or pistol grip and enables, or is
designed to enable, such weapon to shoot more than six shots by a single function of
the trigger or by recoil of the weapon;
(B) Be affixed to the outside of a weapon in order to bump into the trigger and fire
rounds in quick succession;
(C) Modify a weapon's trigger in order to allow the backward and forward motion of
the trigger to each fire a shot; or
(D) Push the trigger back into firing position allowing the shooter to pull the trigger
more quickly and in rapid succession.
(4)(6) 'Sawed-off rifle' means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and
intended to be fired from the shoulder; and designed or redesigned, made or remade, to
use the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire only a single projectile
through a rifle bore for each single pull of the trigger; and which has a barrel or barrels
of less than 16 inches in length or has an overall length of less than 26 inches.
(5)(7) 'Sawed-off shotgun' means a shotgun or any weapon made from a shotgun whether
by alteration, modification, or otherwise having one or more barrels less than 18 inches
in length or if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches.
(6)(8) 'Shotgun' means a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended
to be fired from the shoulder; and designed or redesigned, and made or remade, to use the
energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a
number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger.
(7)(9) 'Silencer' means any device for silencing or diminishing the report of any portable
weapon such as a rifle, carbine, pistol, revolver, machine gun, shotgun, fowling piece, or
other device from which a shot, bullet, or projectile may be discharged by an explosive.
16-11-122.
No person shall have in his or her possession any sawed-off shotgun, sawed-off rifle,
machine gun, dangerous weapon, or silencer except as provided in Code
Section 16-11-124.
16-11-123.
A person commits the offense of unlawful possession of firearms or dangerous weapons
when he or she knowingly has in his or her possession any sawed-off shotgun, sawed-off
rifle, machine gun, dangerous weapon, or silencer, and, upon conviction thereof, he or she
shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of five years.
16-11-124.
This part shall not apply to:
(1) A peace officer of any duly authorized police agency of this state or of any political
subdivision thereof, or a law enforcement officer of any department or agency of the
United States who is regularly employed and paid by the United States, this state, or any
such political subdivision, or an employee of the Department of Corrections of this state
who is authorized in writing by the commissioner of corrections to transfer or possess
such firearms while in the official performance of his or her duties;
(2) A member of the National Guard or of the armed forces of the United States to wit:
the army, navy, marine corps, air force, space force, or coast guard who, while serving
therein, possesses such firearm in the line of duty;
(3) Any sawed-off shotgun, sawed-off rifle, machine gun, dangerous weapon, or silencer
which has been modified or changed to the extent that it is inoperative. Examples of the
requisite modification include weapons with their barrel or barrels filled with lead, hand
grenades filled with sand, or other nonexplosive materials;
(4) Possession of a sawed-off shotgun, sawed-off rifle, machine gun, dangerous weapon,
or silencer by a person who is authorized to possess the same because he or she has
registered the sawed-off shotgun, sawed-off rifle, machine gun, dangerous weapon, or
silencer such weapon in accordance with the dictates of the National Firearms Act, 68A
Stat. 725 (26 U.S.C. Sections 5841-5862); and
(5) A security officer employed by a federally licensed nuclear power facility or a
licensee of such facility, including a contract security officer, who is trained and qualified
under a security plan approved by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission or
other federal agency authorized to regulate nuclear facility security; provided, however,
that this exemption shall apply only while such security officer is acting in connection
with his or her official duties on the premises of such nuclear power facility or on
properties outside the facility property pursuant to a written agreement entered into with
the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the facility. The exemption
under this paragraph does shall not include the possession of silencers.
16-11-125.
In any complaint, accusation, or indictment and in any action or proceeding brought for the
enforcement of this part it shall not be necessary to negative any exception, excuse,
proviso, or exemption contained in this part, and the burden of proof of any such exception,
excuse, proviso, or exemption shall be upon the defendant."
SECTION 2.
Said chapter is further amended in Code Section 16-11-160, relating to use of machine guns,
sawed-off rifles, sawed-off shotguns, or firearms with silencers during commission of certain
offenses and enhanced criminal penalties, by revising the introductory language of
paragraph (1) of subsection (a) as follows:
"(a)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess or to use a machine gun, sawed-off
rifle, sawed-off shotgun, or firearm equipped with a silencer, as those terms are
dangerous weapon, as defined in Code Section 16-11-121, during the commission or the
attempted commission of any of the following offenses:"
SECTION 3.
Code Section 15-11-2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to definitions
relative to the juvenile code, is amended by revising subdivision (13)(N)(i)(II) as follows:
"(II) Dangerous weapon or machine gun, as defined in Code Section 16-11-121; or"
SECTION 4.
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 711 would add 'rapid-fire attachments,' such as bump stocks and similar devices, to Georgia's list of banned dangerous weapons and make possessing one a felony punishable by five years in prison.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law already bans possessing certain dangerous weapons, including machine guns, sawed-off shotguns and rifles, and silencers, under the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) Chapter 11 of Title 16. This bill renames that section of law the 'Georgia Firearms and Weapons Act' and expands the definition of 'dangerous weapon' to specifically include a new category called a 'rapid-fire attachment,' defined as any device that lets a gun fire more than six shots per trigger pull, whether by replacing a stock or grip, bumping the trigger, modifying the trigger's motion, or pushing the trigger back into firing position.
Possessing such a device would become a felony punishable by five years in prison, the same penalty that already applies to possessing a machine gun or sawed-off weapon. The bill keeps existing exceptions for police, military members, federal firearms registrants, and licensed nuclear facility security officers. It also updates the enhanced-penalty law for using weapons during certain crimes and a related definition in Georgia's juvenile code to match the new terminology.
### What it does
- Creates a new legal category, 'rapid-fire attachment' (a device like a bump stock that lets a gun fire faster than normal), and adds it to the definition of 'dangerous weapon.'
- Makes possessing a rapid-fire attachment a felony, punishable by five years in prison, the same as possessing a machine gun or sawed-off shotgun.
- Renames the existing weapons law as the 'Georgia Firearms and Weapons Act' and renumbers several definitions in O.C.G.A. § 16-11-121.
- Updates O.C.G.A. § 16-11-160, the enhanced-penalty law for using certain weapons during a crime, to reference the broader 'dangerous weapon' definition instead of listing weapon types individually.
- Updates a definition in Georgia's juvenile code (O.C.G.A. § 15-11-2) so it matches the revised 'dangerous weapon' definition.
- Keeps existing exceptions for police officers, military members, federal firearms registrants, and licensed nuclear facility security officers, though the nuclear facility exception still excludes silencers.
### Who it affects
Gun owners in Georgia who might possess bump stocks or similar rapid-fire attachments, law enforcement and prosecutors who enforce weapons laws, juvenile courts that rely on the weapons definition, and the groups already exempted from the law, including police, military members, federal firearms registrants, and nuclear facility security officers.
### Why it matters
If enacted, owning a device that lets a firearm fire faster, such as a bump stock, would become a felony in Georgia carrying a five-year prison sentence, a significant new risk for anyone who currently owns or is considering buying such a device, even though existing bans on machine guns and sawed-off weapons remain unchanged.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 16-11-121 to define 'rapid-fire attachment' as a device that replaces a stock or grip, is affixed to bump the trigger, modifies trigger motion, or pushes the trigger into firing position to increase firing speed.
- Section 1 adds rapid-fire attachments to the list of items covered by the ban on dangerous weapons in O.C.G.A. § 16-11-122 and the criminal penalty in O.C.G.A. § 16-11-123, set at five years' imprisonment upon conviction.
- Section 1 keeps unchanged exceptions in O.C.G.A. § 16-11-124 for peace officers, National Guard and armed forces members, inoperative weapons, National Firearms Act registrants, and licensed nuclear facility security officers.
- Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 16-11-160 so the enhanced penalty for using certain weapons during specified crimes applies based on the broader 'dangerous weapon' definition rather than listing machine guns, sawed-off weapons, and silencer-equipped firearms separately.
- Section 3 updates the juvenile code definition in O.C.G.A. § 15-11-2 to reference the revised 'dangerous weapon or machine gun' definition.
- Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-03-03)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-03-06)
- Sponsors: Sandra Scott, Viola Davis, Kim Schofield
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71094
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb711.md?full=1