SB 632: Weapons Carry Licenses; certain Code sections regarding the carry of weapons; provide an exception

Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-126 through § 16-11-127.2) restricts carrying weapons in certain places, but O.C.G.A. § 16-11-130 lists categories of people who are exempt from those restrictions, such as judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, clerks of superior courts, and magistrate court constables. This bill adds a new exempt category: any individual who qualifies for, has been issued, and currently possesses a valid weapons carry license under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-129. It also makes a small wording change, moving the word 'and' from the end of the clerks-of-court paragraph to the end of the constables paragraph, since the constables paragraph is no longer the last item on the list. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but does not state a specific effective date beyond the standard process of becoming law.

• Adds licensed weapons carry holders to the list of people exempt from certain weapons-carrying restrictions in Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-130).
• Requires that the license be current and valid and that the person be in possession of it to qualify for the exemption.
• Makes a technical wording adjustment shifting where the conjunction 'and' appears in the list of exempt groups.
• Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with this new exemption.

Georgians who hold a valid weapons carry license issued under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-129, since they would gain a new legal exemption. It also affects clerks of superior courts and magistrate court constables, whose existing exemptions are listed alongside the new one.

If enacted, licensed weapons carriers in Georgia would be treated the same as certain court officials for purposes of exemptions from weapons-carrying restrictions found in O.C.G.A. §§ 16-11-126 through 16-11-127.2, potentially letting them carry weapons in situations where they currently could not.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 16-11-130 by revising paragraphs (15) and (16), which list clerks of superior courts and magistrate court constables as exempt groups.
• Section 1 adds a new paragraph (17) exempting individuals who qualify for, have been issued, and possess a current and valid weapons carry license under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-129.
• Section 2 repeals any state laws or parts of laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2026-03-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-03-26Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)Primary sponsor

• weapons carry license
• gun laws
• Georgia weapons statutes
• concealed carry