HB 1312: Desai Safety Act; enact

Georgia law already bars convicted felons from possessing firearms, but it does not currently prohibit people under civil protective orders for family or dating violence from having guns. This bill changes that by adding a new firearm ban tied to protective orders issued under Georgia's family violence and dating violence laws. A person served with a qualifying protective order would have 48 hours to surrender their firearms and ammunition to a court, police agency, or licensed gun dealer, or transfer them to someone else who is legally allowed to have them and does not live with the restrained person. Violating the possession ban would be a felony punishable by up to $10,000 in fines and one to five years in prison. Clerks of court would have to report qualifying orders to state and national background check databases, and the bill lays out how a person can petition to get their firearms back once the order ends or a court finds they are no longer a danger.

• Makes it a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, for someone under a qualifying protective order to receive, possess, transport, or try to buy a firearm or ammunition.
• Requires a person served with such an order to surrender or transfer their firearms and ammunition within 48 hours, either to law enforcement, a court, a licensed dealer, or an eligible third party.
• Lets police seize firearms or ammunition in plain view if someone fails to surrender them and there is probable cause the items belong to the restrained person.
• Requires clerks of court to report qualifying protective orders, and later any restoration of rights, to the Georgia Crime Information Center and the national background check system.
• Creates a process for a restrained person to petition a court to get their firearms back and have their rights restored once the order ends or a court finds they are no longer dangerous.
• Adds exceptions for pardoned individuals, witnesses whose firearms are held under court order, temporary transfers for storage or repair, and on-duty peace officers or corrections officers.

People named as respondents in family violence or dating violence protective orders, victims protected by those orders, superior court clerks who must report the orders, local law enforcement agencies that handle surrendered firearms, and federally licensed firearms dealers who may store or receive transferred guns.

People under certain protective orders would lose the legal right to keep guns and ammunition and would face a felony charge for holding onto them, while victims would gain a formal mechanism, backed by court reporting and law enforcement seizure authority, meant to keep firearms away from a restrained person during the order.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'Desai Safety Act.'
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 16-11-131 to define 'protected person,' 'protective order,' and 'ammunition,' and adds new subsection (b.2) making firearm or ammunition possession by a person under a protective order a felony carrying up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
• Section 2 requires surrender or transfer of firearms and ammunition within 48 hours of being served with a protective order, and allows police to seize items in plain view if the person does not comply.
• Section 2 lets a person petition the court to get firearms back once they show they are no longer prohibited from possessing them and are no longer subject to the order.
• Section 2 requires clerks of court to report protective orders to the Georgia Crime Information Center and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
• Section 2 lists exceptions, including pardoned individuals, witnesses in criminal proceedings, temporary transfers for storage or repair, and on-duty peace or corrections officers.
• Sections 3 and 4 amend O.C.G.A. §§ 19-13-4 and 19-13A-4 to require family violence and dating violence protective orders to state on their face that they create a firearm prohibition and explain the surrender process and penalties.
• Sections 3 and 4 provide that firearm rights are restored when the order ends or a court finds the person is no longer a danger, with the restoration also reported to state and national databases.

1. 2026-02-18House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2026-02-17House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2026-02-12House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Mary Ann Santos (D, HD-117)Patrocinador principal
• Omari Crawford (D, HD-089)
• Terry Cummings (D, HD-039)

• gun control
• domestic violence
• protective orders
• firearm possession laws
• criminal penalties