For Release: Thursday, May 20, 1999
The following fact sheet provides background information related to today’s shooting at Heritage High School in Conyers, Georgia.
Georgia Firearm Laws1
- No licensing or registration requirements related to purchase or possession of any firearms.
- No waiting period for purchase of handguns, shotguns, or rifles.
- There are no age restrictions related to possession of rifles or shotguns.
- Handgun possession by persons less than 18 years of age is a misdemeanor for a first-time offense, a felony for a second-time offense. Exemptions from the prohibition on handgun possession by persons less than 18 years of age exist for attendance at a hunter’s or firearms safety course, target practice at a shooting range, and other similar activities.
- It is a felony for a person to intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly sell or provide a handgun to any person less than 18 years of age. Parents and legal guardians may, however, allow possession of a handgun by a minor for such purposes as detailed above. In addition, under federal law, federally licensed firearms dealers may not sell a handgun to anyone under 21 years of age.
- It is a felony for any parent or guardian to knowingly or recklessly provide a handgun to a juvenile when that parent is aware that a substantial risk exists that such juvenile will use the handgun to commit a felony. Any parent aware of such a risk has a duty to make reasonable efforts to prevent the commission of the offense.
Firearm Violations at Schools and Firearm-Related Death Among Children and Teens in Georgia
- During the 1996-97 school year in Georgia, 244 students aged five to 17 (17.4 per 100,000 students) were expelled for Gun Free School Act firearms violations.2
- In 1996 there were 162 children and teens 19 years of age and younger shot and killed with firearms in Georgia: 81 in firearm homicides; 51 in firearm suicides; 24 in unintentional shootings; and six firearm deaths of unknown intent. 3
- In 1996 the rate of firearm-related death among children and teens 19 years of age and younger in Georgia was 7.5 per 100,000. In 1996 the rate of firearm-related death among all U.S. children and teens 19 years of age and younger was 6.1 per 100,000. In 1996 the rate of firearm-related homicide among children and teens 19 years of age and younger in Georgia was 3.7 per 100,000. In 1996 the rate of firearm-related homicide among all U.S. children and teens 19 years of age and younger was 3.7 per 100,000.4
- In 1996 the rate of firearm-related death among children and youth less than 15 years old in Georgia was 1.2 per 100,000. In 1996 the rate of firearm-related death among all U.S. children and youth less than 15 years oldwas 1.2 per 100,000. In 1996 the rate of firearm-related homicide among children and youth less than 15 years old in Georgia was 0.6 per 100,000. In 1996 the rate of firearm-related homicide among all U.S. children and youth less than 15 years old was 0.7 per 100,000.5
- In 1996 the firearm-related homicide offender rate among children and teens 19 years of age and younger in Georgia was 3.0 per 100,000. In 1996 the firearm-related homicide offender rate among all U.S. children and teens 19 years of age and younger was 2.4 per 100,000. 6
1) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, State Laws and Published Ordinances, 1998.
2) Report on State Implementation of the Gun-Free Schools Act School Year 1996-97, prepared by Westat for the Department of Education, 1998, Table 1. Rate per 100,000 students calculated by the Violence Policy Center. The Gun Free Schools Act conditions receipt of some federal education funding on a state’s passage of a law requiring the expulsion of students who bring firearms to school.
3) National Center for Health Statistics Compressed Mortality File 1996, accessed through the CDC Wonder system from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site at wonder.cdc.gov.
4) National Center for Health Statistics Compressed Mortality File 1996, accessed through the CDC Wonder system from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site at wonder.cdc.gov.
5) National Center for Health Statistics Compressed Mortality File 1996, accessed through the CDC Wonder system from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site at wonder.cdc.gov.
6) Homicide offender rate reflects the number of children and teens 19 years of age and younger arrested for firearms homicide per 100,000 population. Unpublished data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 1996 Supplemental Homicide Report. Population estimates for rates from the National Center for Health Statistics Compressed Mortality File 1996, accessed through the CDC Wonder system from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site at wonder.cdc.gov. Rates calculated by the Violence Policy Center.
About the Violence Policy Center
The Violence Policy Center is a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury. Follow the VPC on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
