2025 Georgia Codes – Page 165

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge a firearm while:
(1) Under the influence of alcohol or any drug or any combination of alcohol and any drug to the extent that
it is unsafe for the person to discharge such firearm except in the defense of life, health, and property;
(2) The person’s alcohol concentration is 0.08 grams or more at any time while discharging such firearm
or within three hours after such discharge of such firearm from alcohol consumed before such discharge
ended; or
(3) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this Code section, there is any amount of marijuana or a
controlled substance, as defined in Code Section 16-13-21, present in the person’s blood or urine, or both,
including the metabolites and derivatives of each or both without regard to whether or not any alcohol is
present in the person’s breath or blood.
(b) The fact that any person charged with violating this Code section is or has been legally entitled to use a
drug shall not constitute a defense against any charge of violating this Code section; provided, however, that
such person shall not be in violation of this Code section unless such person is rendered incapable of pos-
sessing or discharging a firearm safely as a result of using a drug other than alcohol which such person is
legally entitled to use.
(c) Any person convicted of violating subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of
a high and aggravated nature.

(a) Except as provided in this Code section, no private or public employer, including the state and its politi-
cal subdivisions, shall establish, maintain, or enforce any policy or rule that has the effect of allowing such
employer or its agents to search the locked privately owned vehicles of employees or invited guests on the
employer’s parking lot and access thereto.
(b) Except as provided in this Code section, no private or public employer, including the state and its politi-
cal subdivisions, shall condition employment upon any agreement by a prospective employee that prohibits
an employee from entering the parking lot and access thereto when the employee’s privately owned motor
vehicle contains a firearm or ammunition, or both, that is locked out of sight within the trunk, glove box,
or other enclosed compartment or area within such privately owned motor vehicle, provided that any such
prospective employee is a lawful weapons carrier.
(c) Subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply:
(1) To searches by certified law enforcement officers pursuant to valid search warrants or valid warrantless
searches based upon probable cause under exigent circumstances;
(2) To vehicles owned or leased by an employer;
(3) To any situation in which a reasonable person would believe that accessing a locked vehicle of an
employee is necessary to prevent an immediate threat to human health, life, or safety; or
(4) When an employee consents to a search of his or her locked privately owned vehicle by licensed private
security officers for loss prevention purposes based on probable cause that the employee unlawfully pos-
sesses employer property.
(d) Subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section shall not apply:
(1) To an employer providing applicable employees with a secure parking area which restricts general public
access through the use of a gate, security station, security officers, or other similar means which limit public
access into the parking area, provided that any employer policy allowing vehicle searches upon entry shall
be applicable to all vehicles entering the property and applied on a uniform and frequent basis;
(2) To any penal institution, correctional institution, detention facility, jail, or similar place of confinement or
confinement alternative;
(3) To facilities associated with electric generation owned or operated by a public utility;
(4) To any United States Department of Defense contractor, if such contractor operates any facility on or
contiguous with a United States military base or installation or within one mile of an airport;
(5) To an employee who is restricted from carrying or possessing a firearm on the employer’s premises due
to a completed or pending disciplinary action;
(6) Where transport of a firearm on the premises of the employer is prohibited by state or federal law or
regulation;
(7) To parking lots contiguous to facilities providing natural gas transmission, liquid petroleum transmission,
water storage and supply, and law enforcement services determined to be so vital to the State of Georgia, by
a written determination of the Georgia Department of Homeland Security, that the incapacity or destruction
of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on public health or safety; or
(8) To any area used for parking on a temporary basis.
(e) No employer, property owner, or property owner’s agent shall be held liable in any criminal or civil action
for damages resulting from or arising out of an occurrence involving the transportation, storage, posses-
sion, or use of a firearm, including, but not limited to, the theft of a firearm from an employee’s automobile,
pursuant to this Code section unless such employer commits a criminal act involving the use of a firearm or
unless the employer knew that the person using such firearm would commit such criminal act on the employ-
er’s premises. Nothing contained in this Code section shall create a new duty on the part of the employer,
property owner, or property owner’s agent. An employee at will shall have no greater interest in employment
created by this Code section and shall remain an employee at will.
(f) In any action relating to the enforcement of any right or obligation under this Code section, an employer,
property owner, or property owner’s agent’s efforts to comply with other applicable federal, state, or local
safety laws, regulations, guidelines, or ordinances shall be a complete defense to any employer, property
owner, or property owner’s agent’s liability.
(g) In any action brought against an employer, employer’s agent, property owner, or property owner’s agent
relating to the criminal use of firearms in the workplace, the plaintiff shall be liable for all legal costs of such
employer, employer’s agent, property owner, or property owner’s agent if such action is concluded in such
employer, employer’s agent, property owner, or property owner’s agent’s favor.
(h) This Code section shall not be construed so as to require an employer, property owner, or property own-
er’s agent to implement any additional security measures for the protection of employees, customers, or oth-
er persons. Implementation of remedial security measures to provide protection to employees, customers, or
other persons shall not be admissible in evidence to show prior negligence or breach of duty of an employer,
property owner, or property owner’s agent in any action against such employer, its officers or shareholders,
or property owners.
(i) All actions brought based upon a violation of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be brought exclu-
sively by the Attorney General.
(j) In the event that subsection (e) of this Code section is declared or adjudged by any court to be invalid or
unconstitutional for any reason, the remaining portions of this Code section shall be invalid and of no further
force or effect. The General Assembly declares that it would not have enacted the remaining provisions of
this Code section if it had known that such portion hereof would be declared or adjudged invalid or uncon-
stitutional.
(k) Nothing in this Code section shall restrict the rights of private property owners or persons in legal con-
trol of property through a lease, a rental agreement, a contract, or any other agreement to control access to
such property. When a private property owner or person in legal control of property through a lease, a rental
agreement, a contract, or any other agreement is also an employer, his or her rights as a private property
owner or person in legal control of property shall govern.