Bill Text: GA HB1238 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Georgia Firearms Freedom Act; enact

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-03-08 - House Second Readers [HB1238 Detail]

Download: Georgia-2009-HB1238-Introduced.html

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10 LC 21 0501

House Bill 1238

By: Representatives Jerguson of the 22nd, Hill of the 21st, Austin of the 10th, Allison of the 8th, Horne of the 71st, and others

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT

To amend Article 4 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to dangerous instrumentalities and practices, so as to provide a short title; to provide a legislative declaration of authority; to define certain terms; to provide that a firearm manufactured and located in Georgia shall not be subject to federal law or regulations; to provide for exceptions; to provide for marking firearms manufactured in Georgia; to provide for applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

Article 4 of Chapter 11 of Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to dangerous instrumentalities and practices, is amended by adding a new part to read as follows:

"Part 6

16-11-180.

This part shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Firearms Freedom Act.'

16-11-181.

The General Assembly declares that the authority for this part derives from the following:

(1) The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees to the states and their people all powers not granted to the federal government elsewhere in the Constitution and reserves to the state and people of Georgia certain powers as they were understood at the time that the citizens of Georgia ratified the Constitution. The guaranty of those powers is a matter of contract between the state and people of Georgia and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by the 13 original states of these United States;

(2) The Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees to the people rights not granted in the Constitution and reserves to the people of Georgia certain rights as they were understood at the time the union of states was formed. The guaranty of those rights is a matter of contract between the state and people of Georgia and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by the 13 original states of these United States;

(3) The regulation of intrastate commerce vested in the states under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, particularly if not expressly preempted by federal law. Congress has not expressly preempted state regulation of intrastate commerce pertaining to the manufacture on an intrastate basis of firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition;

(4) The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reserves to the people the right to keep and bear arms as that right was understood at the time that the union of states was formed, and the guaranty of the right is a matter of contract between the state and people of Georgia and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by the 13 original states of these United States; and

(5) Article I, Section I, Paragraph VII of the Constitution of Georgia, which clearly secures to Georgia citizens, and prohibits government interference with, the right of individual Georgia citizens to keep and bear arms.

16-11-182.

As used in this part, the term:

(1) 'Borders of Georgia' means the boundaries of Georgia as deduced from the Constitution of Georgia, the Convention of Beaufort, the Articles of Cession and Agreement with the United States of America entered into on April 24, 1802, the Resolution of the General Assembly dated December 8, 1826, and the adjudications and compromises affecting Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina and are as described in Code Section 50-2-1.

(2) 'Firearms accessories' means items that are used in conjunction with or mounted upon a firearm but are not essential to the basic function of a firearm, including but not limited to telescopic or laser sights, magazines, flash or sound suppressors, folding or aftermarket stocks and grips, speedloaders, ammunition carriers, and lights for target illumination.

(3) 'Generic and insignificant parts' includes but is not limited to springs, screws, nuts, and pins.

(4) 'Manufactured' means that a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition has been created from basic materials for functional usefulness, including but not limited to forging, casting, machining, or other processes for working materials.

16-11-183.

A personal firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in Georgia and that remains within the borders of Georgia shall not be subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. Such items shall not be deemed to have not traveled in interstate commerce. This part shall apply to a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured in Georgia from basic materials and that can be manufactured without the inclusion of any significant parts imported from another state. Generic and insignificant parts that have other manufacturing or consumer product applications are not firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition, and their importation into Georgia and incorporation into a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured in Georgia shall not subject the firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition to federal regulation. It is declared by the legislature that basic materials, such as unmachined steel and unshaped wood, are not firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition and are not subject to congressional authority to regulate firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition under interstate commerce as if they were actually firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition. The authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce in basic materials shall not include authority to regulate firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition made in Geogia from those materials. Firearms accessories that are imported into Georgia from another state and subject to federal regulation as being in interstate commerce shall not subject a firearm to federal regulation under interstate commerce because they are attached to or used in conjunction with a firearm in Georgia.

16-11-184.

This part shall not apply to:

(1) A firearm that cannot be carried and used by one person;

(2) A firearm that has a bore diameter greater than 1 1/2 inches and uses smokeless powder, not black powder, as a propellant;

(3) Ammunition with a projectile that explodes using an explosion of chemical energy after the projectile leaves the firearm; or

(4) A firearm that discharges two or more projectiles with one activation of the trigger or other firing device.

16-11-185.

A firearm manufactured or sold in Georgia under this part shall have the words 'Made in Georgia' clearly stamped on a central metallic part, such as the receiver or frame.

16-11-186.

The provisions of this part shall apply to firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition that are manufactured and retained in Georgia after July 1, 2010."

SECTION 2.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.