Georgia - pocket holster law?

[Lightsped]

I was at a local Georgia gunstore today and the salesman there was telling me that even though I have my gun license, that it is illegal to carry a pistol in my pocket without a regular holster or pocket holster.

Any truth to this?

 

[obxned]

Sure hope that isn't true - I carry my P3AT on a belt clip sans holster, or are my pants a holster??

 

[Mac Attack]

It's true. In GA you have to have a firearm in a holster when on your body. Silly law but it is what it is.

IIRC I believe that the various clips you can install on your firearm constitute a holster.

I borrowed this from a post at ar15.com

http://www.state.ga.us/services/ocode/ocgsearch.htm

"16-11-126.
(a) A person commits the offense of carrying a concealed weapon when such person knowingly has or carries about his or her person, unless in an open manner and fully exposed to view, any bludgeon, metal knuckles, firearm, knife designed for the purpose of offense and defense, or any other dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument of like character outside of his or her home or place of business, except as permitted under this Code section.
(b) Upon conviction of the offense of carrying a concealed weapon, a person shall be punished as follows:
(1) For the first offense, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; and
(2) For the second offense, and for any subsequent offense, he or she shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned for not less than two years and not more than five years.
(c) This Code section shall not permit, outside of his or her home, motor vehicle, or place of business, the concealed carrying of a pistol, revolver, or concealable firearm by any person unless that person has on his or her person a valid license issued under Code Section 16-11-129 and the pistol, revolver, or firearm may only be carried in a shoulder holster, waist belt holster, any other holster, hipgrip, or any other similar device, in which event the weapon may be concealed by the person´s clothing, or a handbag, purse, attache case, briefcase, or other closed container. Carrying on the person in a concealed manner other than as provided in this subsection shall not be permitted and shall be a violation of this Code section."

Here's another good link:
http://www.georgiapacking.org/law.php

 

[Lone_Gunman]

As Mac said, yes you have to use a holster, but a clip is ok too (it would fall into the "any other similar device" category that a Barami hip grip would be in)

 

[Winchester 73]

This silly holster requirement,along with the infamous Public Gathering Statute and the inability to use public transit while carrying(a felony)cry out for Georgia ,a supposedly conservative,rational state changing these ridiculous, life threatening ,anti 2A rules.
Also places serving alcohol are out,along with churchs, schools,athletic events and publicly owned buildings.
When visiting my favorite city Savannah,I just leave my firearm in the motel safe and go naked.It's too easy to get into trouble in the "Peach State".

 

[Lone_Gunman]

Georgia ,a supposedly conservative,rational state

The problem with Georgia is Atlanta. Liberals are in control of Atlanta <...> and they tend to be more anti-gun.

 

[Winchester 73]

Lone Gunman ,you are correct to a degree .But the Atlanta Metro area still makes up only about one fourth of Georgia's population.
There have to be other factor's at work.
Hopefully thing's will change for the better.I love Savannah so much I disarm there, which I probably would not do in almost any other area of the 50 states where I could legally carry.

 

[cslinger]

You know all things considered a law that requires one to carry a firearm in a holster while on a person or purse or whatever isn't half as bad as the usual drek that gets foisted upon us. I mean there is a lot of sense to making sure your firearm is secured properly with the triggered covered by a holster.


Flame away.

 

[Winchester 73]

My S&W 340PD's trigger is completely covered by my Kramer pocket holster or by my Milt Sparks pocket holster.
This is not like Mexican carry with the firearm just tucked in the belt.
This law is stupid and I believe GA is the only state with CCW that does not allow pocket holster carry.

 

[Mainsail]

Here in Washington, you can carry your handgun openly on public transportation. That’s called irony.

 

[carebear]

My S&W 340PD's trigger is completely covered by my Kramer pocket holster or by my Milt Sparks pocket holster.
This is not like Mexican carry with the firearm just tucked in the belt.
This law is stupid and I believe GA is the only state with CCW that does not allow pocket holster carry.

16-11-126 - ...any other holster, ...

If I'm reading the posted statute correctly, your pocket holster carry is perfectly legal. It's holsterless pocket carry that is forbidden.

 

[SMMAssociates]

Slightly off topic:

Here in OH, with a CHL you can carry about any way you want to - clip, pocket, neck chain, etc., except in a vehicle.

In a vehicle it's got to be in a holster and on your person....

Or a whole bunch of locked or unlocked cases, etc., that you're not wearing. No case law yet, but I would guess that a fanny pack would be considered a holster. What they don't want is "Mexican", or tucked in between the seats - either being a little unsafe.... Clips won't pass....

As one might expect, restaurants that serve, and all kinds of buildings we paid for are off limits , as are houses of worship unless they permit it .

Open carry is legal, but a very bad idea, and you can't generally OC in places where you can't conceal.

Regards,

 

[Mac Attack]

If I'm reading the posted statute correctly, your pocket holster carry is perfectly legal. It's holsterless pocket carry that is forbidden.

If you have a CCW permit it is legal to carry your firearm anywhere on your body concealed but it has to be in a holster, clip or on a chain.

In GA we can open carry without a permit as long as you are 21 years or older.

I came from California, so to be GA is a very gun friendly state were a citizens can own any gun they want including CIII.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

I guess if your point of reference is California, Georgia looks pretty good. But if you compare it to Florida, Geogia's firearms license is poor.

 

[lacoochee]

I have to agree about Florida CCW restrictions, now that we have the right to carry in state parks, NWR's, and National Forests I have to say I am at loss as to what to press for other than maybe open carry (we lost that in the 80's in exchange for shall issue state wide CCW) or at least a relaxation of what counts as brandishing.

 

[Winchester 73]

I seem to have read it wrong.Pocket carry with holster is legal in GA.carebear and Mac Attack thank you both for the correction.

 

[carebear]

Win,

It's bad enough many statutes don't pass the "logic" test, it's even worse when they aren't at least written clearly.

 

[4thPointOfContact]

I am aware that this Thread is rather old but I still want to make a reply as some people doing a web-search may think this is the current information.

OCGA 16-11-126 was completely rewritten in 2010 with the passage of SB-308, a sweeping and comprehensive gun bill. There is no longer a requirement for any sort of holster (though it remains a good idea to use one).

The current version is here on Georgia Packing.Org. It's rather lengthy due to the way it's written, but at least it's understandable once you parse it out.