Georgia Code
Part 3 - Carrying and Possession of Firearms
§ 16-11-131. Possession of Firearms by Convicted Felons and First Offender Probationers

(b.1) Any person who is prohibited by this Code section from possessing a firearm because of conviction of a forcible felony or because of being on probation as a first offender or under conditional discharge for a forcible felony and who attempts to purchase or obtain transfer of a firearm shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than five years; provided, however, that upon a second or subsequent conviction, such person shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than five nor more than ten years.
History. Code 1933, § 26-2914, enacted by Ga. L. 1980, p. 1509, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1171, § 2; Ga. L. 1983, p. 945, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 476, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1989, p. 14, § 16; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1630, § 5; Ga. L. 2012, p. 899, § 8-5/HB 1176; Ga. L. 2014, p. 426, § 4/HB 770; Ga. L. 2014, p. 444, § 2-5/HB 271; Ga. L. 2016, p. 443, § 6C-2/SB 367; Ga. L. 2017, p. 417, § 3-1/SB 104; Ga. L. 2018, p. 550, § 4-4/SB 407; Ga. L. 2022, p. 103, § 1/SB 479.
The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, substituted “as a matter of law pursuant to Code Section 42-8-60” for “pursuant to Code Section 42-8-62” near the middle of subsection (f).
The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, in the middle of subsection (e), inserted “hijacking a” and inserted “in the first degree”.
The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, in subsection (b), inserted “, who is on probation and was sentenced for a felony under subsection (a) or (c) of Code Section 16-13-2,” near the middle, inserted “year”, and substituted “ten years” for “five years” in the middle, in the proviso, inserted “upon a second or subsequent conviction, such person shall be imprisoned for not less than five nor more than ten years; provided, further, that”, and substituted “for” for “as to” in the middle of the proviso; in paragraph (b.1), inserted “or under conditional discharge”, deleted “pursuant to this Code section” following “forcible felony” near the middle, inserted “upon conviction”, inserted “year” in the middle, and added the proviso; and, in subsection (f), substituted “sentenced” for “placed on probation” near the beginning, and, in the middle, inserted “or sentenced pursuant to subsection (a) or (c) of Code Section 16-13-2” and inserted “or 16-13-2, as applicable,”.
The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, substituted “a firearm” for “any firearm” preceding “commits a felony” in the middle of subsection (b) and added subsection (g).
Cross references.
Unauthorized possession of weapon by person confined in penal institution, § 42-5-63 .
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1988, “of ” was deleted following “Chapter ” in subsection (e) (now (f)).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1996, “ 18 U.S.C. Section 925” was substituted for “ 18 U.S.C. 925” in the first sentence of subsection (d).
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2012, p. 899, § 9-1(a)/HB 1176, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012, and shall apply to offenses which occur on or after that date. Any offense occurring before July 1, 2012, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such offense and shall be considered a prior conviction for the purpose of imposing a sentence that provides for a different penalty for a subsequent conviction for the same type of offense, of whatever degree or level, pursuant to this Act.”
Administrative rules and regulations.
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Georgia Crime Information Center Council, § 140-2-.17.
Law reviews.
For annual survey of criminal law, see 56 Mercer L. Rev. 153 (2004).
For article on the 2012 amendment of this Code section, see 29 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 290 (2012).
For article on the 2016 amendment of this Code section, see 33 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 139 (2016).
For article on the 2017 amendment of this Code section, see 34 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 61 (2017).
For annual survey on criminal law, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 73 (2017).
For article on the 2018 amendment of this Code section, see 35 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 45 (2018).
For annual survey on criminal law, see 70 Mercer L. Rev. 63 (2018).
For article with annual survey on criminal law, see 73 Mercer L. Rev. 75 (2021).