16-11-137. Detention for investigation of license to carry prohibited.

Code 1981, § 16-11-137, enacted by Ga. L. 2014, p. 432, § 1-2/HB 826; Code 1981, § 16-11-137, enacted by Ga. L. 2014, p. 599, § 1-10/HB 60; Ga. L. 2022, p. 74, § 11/SB 319.

The 2022 amendment, effective April 12, 2022, rewrote this Code section, which read: “(a) Every license holder shall have his or her valid weapons carry license in his or her immediate possession at all times when carrying a weapon, or if such person is exempt from having a weapons carry license pursuant to Code Section 16-11-130 or subsection (c) of Code Section 16-11-127.1, he or she shall have proof of his or her exemption in his or her immediate possession at all times when carrying a weapon, and his or her failure to do so shall be prima-facie evidence of a violation of the applicable provision of Code Sections 16-11-126 through 16-11-127.2. “(b) A person carrying a weapon shall not be subject to detention for the sole purpose of investigating whether such person has a weapons carry license. “(c) A person convicted of a violation of this Code section shall be fined not more than $10.00 if he or she produces in court his or her weapons carry license, provided that it was valid at the time of his or her arrest, or produces proof of his or her exemption.”

Ga. L. 2022, p. 74, § 1/SB 319, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Chairman John Meadows Act.’” Ga. L. 2022, p. 74, § 2/SB 319, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “The General Assembly finds and determines that: “(1) The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution recognizes the right of the people to keep and bear arms and that such right shall not be infringed; and “(2) The people of this state, to perpetuate the principles of free government, insure justice to all, preserve peace, promote the interest and happiness of the citizen and of the family, and transmit to posterity the enjoyment of liberty, provided that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed but that the General Assembly shall have power to prescribe the manner in which arms may be borne.”

For article, “SB 319: Chairman John Meadows Act,” see 39 Georgia St. U.L. Rev. 1 (2022).