As gun owners, we are familiar with the use of deadly force and how it relates to being personally responsible and legally protected. In every professional concealed carry course taught in the United States, three legal concepts are also discussed: Stand Your Ground, Duty to Retreat and Castle Doctrine. 30 states have codified “stand your ground laws” established and eight states have established legal precedence to support the justified use of force for citizens.
For those of us in the Peach State, under Georgia Code §16-3-21, individuals are permitted to use force to defend themselves against unlawful force. Additionally, Georgia Code §16-3-23.1—commonly known as the state’s “stand your ground” law—states that a person has no duty to retreat before using force if they are in a place where they have a legal right to be and are not engaged in criminal activity.
Pretty straightforward and understandable, right? But as I often say, it’s typically not how laws are written, but how they are NOT written. Regarding “Stand Your Ground” in Georgia, although there are legal protections written to prevent criminal charges for justified self-defense shootings, gun owners must use deadly force often become the targets of lawsuits.
Thankfully, Georgia Gun Owners have worked with several pro-2A representatives in the Georgia House to introduce HB1226 to address the much-needed legal protections missing from current law. Key provisions of the bill include:
• A law enforcement agency may use standard procedures to investigate the use of threats or force[…] however, that such agency shall not arrest a person for using or threatening to use force unless a probable cause determination has been made that such force used or threatened was unlawful.
• A claim of immunity pursuant to this Code section may be made during arraignment or as a pretrial motion. When a prima-facie claim of immunity has been raised, such claim shall only be overcome by clear and convincing evidence.”
• relating to arrests and use of force by law enforcement officers, has no duty to retreat from the use of such force and shall not be held liable to the person against whom the use of force wasjustified, to any legal representative or heir of such person, or to any person acting as an accomplice or assistant to such person in any civil action brought as a result of the threat or use of such force.”
In layman’s terms, this bill grant’s law-abiding gun owners the presumption of innocence in the wake of a self-defense shooting, which is already law in 18 other states.
To preserve due process rights, the bill also establishes a pre-trial immunity hearing, which allows gun owners to assert “Stand Your Ground” protections before being dragged through months or years of prosecution and costly legal fees. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, HB 1226 ensure that there MUST BE probable cause before a gun owner can be arrested following a self-defense incident, ending the mindset of “letting the justice system figure it out” where innocent Georgians’ Second, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights are protected.
Not surprisingly, the defense of Constitutionally protected rights remains a partisan issue. Democrats on the committee were quick to call the need for the update to Georgia law into question, whilst not providing any credible argument against it. Additionally, state level “gun control groups” have taken to social media to try and stop the legal protections for gun owners since “defensive use of force occurs infrequently.” Since when is DAILY considered “infrequent” for any issue? A quick look into published defensive gun use (DGU) studies statistics (which are generally underreported) as well as review of media reporting via Bearing Arms’s DGUpage validates just how frequent self-defense with a firearm occurs. But to those who wear their orange or red shirts and regurgitate the same disproven and flat out false talking points year after year, facts and reality do not matter.
Yet, despite vocal opposition from Democrat “gun grabber groups” across the state, the biggest hurdle in passing HB 1226 remains the Republican majority.
As I previously discussed, GOP leadership in Atlanta has made it no secret that they have no incentive to pushpro-gun legislation because “they” want to look more moderate in order to woo Independent and centrist democrat votes. In a time when the Second Amendment is under attack, even in pro 2A Georgia, INACTION is just as bad as surrender.
Thankfully, it’s nice to see there are still some elected representatives standing up for their constituents’ legal protection under the Constitution. To our Bearing Arms readers in Georgia, we must keep up the fight and demand our elected representatives safeguard our rights and legal protections and approve HB 1226. To make it even easier, Georgia Gun Owners have a pre-drafted email you can auto-send to the General Assembly members we the people have elected to defend our rights.
Editor’s Note: Second Amendment groups are doing everything they can to protect our right to armed self-defense.
Help us continue to report on their efforts and legislative successes and failures. Join Bearing Arms VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.
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