Moving to Georgia from Virginia
Welcome to Georgia! What part of North Georgia? I live in Athens myself.
Hey Georgia,
I bit of assist if you please - my son will be moving from Virginia to North Georgia in June. In order to take his guns (2 rifles, 1 shotgun, and 2 handguns)with him.
Va registered vehicle until he makes the changes.
Make sure once he is a legal resident that he goes to his local probate court clerk and asks for a GWCL. It'll cost about $79 total ($30-35 probate, the rest is fingerprinting & background check fees) and he will get his license in the mail in about a month assuming nothing comes up. He'll be able to carry a handgun open or concealed as he wishes, within legal limits in Ga. No school carry no courthouse carry. All the malls have no carry signs and you will be asked to leave if they see you have a pistol. Signs have no weight of law but they can trespass you (misdemeanor) if you refuse to leave (most of us just cc in such places). Carry into bars is legal but they can still ask you to leave if they want. Drinking is also legal while carrying but probably ill advised unless it's just like a drink with dinner. Church carry is permitted if it's ok'd by the church beforehand. Public property (parks, etc) carry is allowed, open or concealed, even govt buildings (except courthouse), unless a government entity holds meetings there AND the entrances have to be security screened by at least one leo. There is strong premption in Ga so city and county governemts can NOT make their own weapons regulations. I open carry everyday myself except as above. Getting a GWCL will also make buying a handgun a little quicker (no nics check though the big box stores will still do this anyways). There's no waiting period to buy a pistol or rifle in Ga. Just the federal form, DL and NICs check. You can go to a store, buy what you want and walk out with it.
My understanding is this - in the trunk, unloaded, ammo in a separate container for the drive down.
that's what I did when I visited Arlington VA, just in reverse. SC not so gun friendly (unloaded, seperate in trunk iirc)
Once in Georgia, nothing needs to be done. Just enjoy hunting in the North Georgia Mountains.
Correct? He does not hold a Va CCP.
Well he'll have to get a hunting license
. Carry of long guns is permitted without a license, though make sure they are slung with barrel straight up. Handguns, no. You can not carry a handgun, concealed nor open, without a Georgia weapons carry license (GWCL). You can carry a handgun in your house/on your property/or even inside your business or in your car without a license in any fashion you wish loaded unloaded, strapped to your forehead if you wish, license or not. Once you step off your property or out of your car you are in violation. You can carry your weapons from car into your house of course. In Georgia the LEO are not supposed to be able to ask to see your weapons license if you have comitted no crime, i.e no harassment. Also, if he stays in a hotel/motel his room is considered his "house". Ga does have stand your ground/castle doctrine law btw.
caveat - I am the original transferee of all of them in Va - I gave the guns to my son over the years.
Ga could care less how he got them. There is no firearm registration here and it is actually legal to sell/buy with fellow GA residents who have a valid ga id (like a drivers license) and they are legally allowed to posess a firearm (not a felon basically) with no background check required and no bill of sale required either.
STONGLY suggest you go to georgiacarry.org and read up, become a member. Also make sure and go to georgiapacking.org. The forums are pretty friendly and informative. As a matter of fact you and your son should visit both of these sites and forums on georgiapacking.
for example, all your questions answered here:
http://www.georgiacarry.org/cms/georgias-carry-laws-explained/frequently-asked-questions/
welcome
