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Handgun Training for Minors

GAgunLAWbooklet

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The Hen that laid the Golden Legos
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So you want to take your kid shooting, and this will include letting the kid shoot a handgun under your supervision.
You're the parent, and you can do this, right? Even if the kid is under 18, surely the law allows parents to train their kids in the safe and accurate use of guns, including pistols, right?

Not exactly.

What if you want to send your son out with his grandfather's farm to do some fishing, and ATV riding, and .22 pistol shooting.
You're not going to be there. Do you need to write a permission slip or something to authorize your dad to let your son handle and use Grandpa's pistol under Grandpa's direct supervision?

Now what if Grandpa lives in Atlanta and doesn't own a ranch, but does have a membership at an indoor range where, let's just say hypothetically, where the range rules and policies allow any minor to shoot "where authorized by law." Can gramps take his 16 year old grandson to the indoor range and let him shoot that S&W 22A plinker?

What if you want to let your son go hiking with his best friend's family, up in the North Georgia mountains, and this family intends to bring a .22 rifle and a .22 pistol with them on the hike and do a bit of plinking in a remote area of the Chattahoochee National Forest (legal if done safely, even though forest service personnel recommend sticking to established shooting ranges)?

FOR THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS, see both the law that makes it generally a crime for a minor to possess a handgun (and for kids under 17, it would be prosecuted in juvenile court as a delinquent act, not literally a crime). Code section 16-11-132, AND THEN SEE this other law that applies to the adult(s) who helped supply the handgun in question to that minor: Code section 16-11-101.1.
 
THE LAW DIRECTLY APPLICABLE TO THE ADULT

edited / paraphrase of 16-11-101.1

(b) It shall be unlawful for a person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly to sell or furnish [furnish = temporary possession, even under supervision]
a pistol or revolver to a minor [person under 18 years]...

...except that it shall be lawful for a parent or legal guardian
to permit possession of a pistol or revolver by a minor
for the purposes specified in subsection (c) of Code Section 16-11-132.

[HOWEVER, the exception above shall not apply, and the general ban on minors possessing handguns remains in effect, if the minor's possession of the gun would not also be legal under Code section 16-11-132]

[HOWEVER, none of these exceptions apply, and the strict handgun ban remains in place, for any minor who has been in the past committed felony crimes or been declared mentally incompetent, or any minor who is likely to commit a felony crime with a handgun in the near future.]

**********************************************

This law is useless by itself. It must be read in combination with 16-11-132 to see what is legal or illegal, because so many of the exceptions are described in terms of that other law. Without considering 16-11-132, if the only thing you look at is 16-11-101.1, it says you can't let a 17 year old or younger kid touch a handgun. You cannot get any defenses or exceptions out of this law--they're all found in the other law!
 
THE LAW THAT DIRECTLY APPLIES TO THE KID, and indirectly applies to the ADULT in combination with 16-11-101.1:

O.C.G.A. 16-11-132:

(a) [definition of "loaded" .. only relevant to a few rare exceptions, only in this Code section]
(b) creates the crime of possessing a gun while being under 18. Misdemeanor for 1st offense, felony for any future offenses.
(c) EXCEPTIONS:
(c)(1) Any person under the age of 18 years who is: [doing ANY of the listed below, "A" through "E"]


(A) Attending a hunter education course or a firearms safety course;


(B) Engaging in practice in the use of a firearm or target shooting
at an established range authorized by the governing body of the jurisdiction where such range is located;


(C) Engaging in an organized competition involving the use of a firearm
or participating in or practicing for a performance by an organized group under 26 U.S.C. Section 501(c)(3) which uses firearms as a part of such performance;
[this means athletes shooting in a formal match, or using guns for a parade, drill, historical reenactment, etc. for a non-profit group.]

(D) Hunting or fishing pursuant to a valid license
if such person has in his or her possession such a valid hunting or fishing license if required;
[AND] is engaged in legal hunting or fishing; [AND] has permission of the owner of the land on which the activities are being conducted;
and the handgun, whenever loaded, is carried only in an open and fully exposed manner; or


(E) Traveling to or from any activity described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of this paragraph
if the handgun in such person's possession is not loaded;

ANOTHER EXCEPTION, (c)(2) Any person under the age of 18 years who is on real property under the control of such person's parent, legal guardian, or grandparent and who has the permission of such person's parent or legal guardian to possess a handgun; or

ANOTHER EXCEPTION, (c) (3) Any person under the age of 18 years who is at such person's residence
and who, with the permission of such person's parent or legal guardian, possesses a handgun for the purpose of
exercising the rights authorized in Code Section 16-3-21 or 16-3-23. [Use of Force, Deadly Force, defense of Self or Others]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NOTICE HOW LIMITED SOME OF THESE EXCEPTIONS ARE !!!
Exception (c)(1)(A) only applies to a "safety course" and not to informal safety instruction from a more experienced shooter, like Dad or Uncle Bob the infantry veteran or Aunt Sue the retired City cop.

Exception (c)(1)(B) doesn't apply to just any legal place to shoot, like a safe spot in the woods, the private shooting area on your family's ranch or farm, your unregistered and unlicensed backyard range. It only applies to an "ESTABLISHED SHOOTING RANGE" that is "AUTHORIZED BY" the City or County officials. What does that mean? I think it means a range that has been given specific permission to operate as a shooting range, probably after having been inspected by city or county building code officials, gotten any necessary business licenses or land use permits, etc. Arguably, we could try to say that any shooting range that is not specifically forbidden by local laws is an "authorized" range, and by being created prior to the day the minor possessed a gun there makes it an "established" shooting range. I don't think this is what the legislature intended-- I think they were thinking about ranges that were well-known to City and County officials as either public ranges or members-only club ranges, but whose operations were subject to local laws and compliance checks. If exception (c)(1)(B) was means to apply to any place to shoot where shooting is not prohibited by law, it should have said that plainly.

Exception (c)(1)(C) only applies to competitors in a match, not casual target practice among friends or family members. It would cover the carrying of a black powder revolver in a bona-fide civil war reenactment hosted by a nonprofit historical society, but NOT letting the teenager carry that same blackpowder gun (unloaded) to a gun show to attempt to buy a holster that fits it, or some nicer grips.

Exception (c)(2) is limited to lands owned by or leased to the kid's PARENTS or GRANDPARENTS. Not an uncle, not a neighbor, not his best friend's parents, not Dad's boss who owns a 100 acre farm with a well-used shooting area with a good backstop. The land has to be owned by or under a real estate lease to a parent or grandparent, otherwise this exception just doesn't exist.
 
too many words there. just do it on your own property and problem solved

my older brother had me shoot his glock when i was like 7 or 8 during christmas break in south georgia (he was helping me hold it)

i mean........has anyone ever been arrested for this? or is this legislation that is used to tack on penaltys for the guardian after the fact regarding a more serious matter (like kid taking a gun and shooting or robbing someone)?
 
too many words there. just do it on your own property and problem solved

...

I don't think adults should have to come from wealthy families that own big tracts of land to pass on the love of the shooting sports and the art of handgun marksmanship to the next generation.
If one of your parents allowed your other brother to supervise you shooting his Glock on YOUR FAMILY PROPERTY, great, it was legal.
But if you lived in a suburban subdivision and you did this on your Uncle Albert's 20-acre homestead out in farm country, that would be illegal. Even with your parents and grandparents and all your aunts and uncles giving permission. The question of who owned the land under your feet would make the difference between a crime that could send your uncle to jail for a year (and you and your brother to a Youth Detention Center for a year) and perfectly legal conduct.

Is this law enforced? I don't think so. But it's a stupid law that needs to be amended significantly, don't you think?
For the longest time, the GWL/ GFL/ Pistol Toters' Permit laws and the "public gathering" gun ban only applied to colored folks, not any white people. Selective enforcement was the legislative intent of the law back in those days. That doesn't mean the law shouldn't be changed and made into a good version we can accept as fair and expect to be applied.
 
I don't think adults should have to come from wealthy families that own big tracts of land to pass on the love of the shooting sports and the art of handgun marksmanship to the next generation.
If one of your parents allowed your other brother to supervise you shooting his Glock on YOUR FAMILY PROPERTY, great, it was legal.
But if you lived in a suburban subdivision and you did this on your Uncle Albert's 20-acre homestead out in farm country, that would be illegal. Even with your parents and grandparents and all your aunts and uncles giving permission. The question of who owned the land under your feet would make the difference between a crime that could send your uncle to jail for a year (and you and your brother to a Youth Detention Center for a year) and perfectly legal conduct.

Is this law enforced? I don't think so. But it's a stupid law that needs to be amended significantly, don't you think?
For the longest time, the GWL/ GFL/ Pistol Toters' Permit laws and the "public gathering" gun ban only applied to colored folks, not any white people. Selective enforcement was the legislative intent of the law back in those days. That doesn't mean the law shouldn't be changed and made into a good version we can accept as fair and expect to be applied.
i think all state laws regarding the 2nd amendment are unconstitutional regardless of how 2nd amendment friendly they are
 
So what's your point here? Yep it stupid and we know it, and?

Suggest it to GCO and the friendly govt folks we work with for next year and let's work on changing it. Too late for this session .
 
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