This is the problem with the way the laws are written. So for the sake of argument. Let’s say this guy is 20, he’s going hiking up in habersham county. He doesn’t have a weapons permit and is carrying a 357 open. What could he be charged with under current OCGA law? Like someone else said carry some fishing line or extra ammo. There are to many grey areas. Plus these new possum cops are a long way from the days of buddy Lovell coming by deer camp to play poker and drink shine.
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Under 21 Open Carry While Hiking
- Thread starter Swab
- Start date
According to 16-11-126 section h) "upon conviction of the offense of carrying a weapon without a valid weapons carry license, a person shall be punished as follows: *imma short hand it* (1) 1st conviction is a misdemeanor *up to 1yr in prison*(2) second offense within 5 years is a felony and subsequent offense also and shall be imprisoned not less then 2 but no more then 5yrs.
But yeah with the law there is a lot of gray but without a warrant the officer has power to make decisions for interpretation and is easy to charge you then you have do the court process and hire an attorney while being in jeopardy which in the eyes of the law you are innocent till proven guilty but isn't fun cost $$ and under indictment you are barred from things like enlisting in the military
That’s the penalty code. I asked which code he could be charged with. If he’s “fishing” with a license to fish and is armed at 18-20 subsection (f) has him covered. Additionally 99% of people who get a case thrown out are so happy that it’s tossed that they don’t look past the illegal detainment or blatant civil rights violations that they could be pursuing. 18 USC 242 is pretty serious. While I general support law enforcement there is a blatant disregard for accountability. Example, I had some young kid at commerce police department pull me over a few years back for speeding. He hit me with lidar with his windows up which was a lie. Asked me to step out of the car when he saw my gun and I refused to hand it to him. Legal to ask me to step out based on Pennsylvania vs mimms but was totally illegal when he opened my door to retrieve the gun and proceeded to lecture me on carrying a round in the chamber which was illegal according to him. A shallow applicant pool and relaxed hiring standards are to blame for most of it.
I honestly don't know the penal code. for the most part I try to know the laws that would pertain to me, so I can best protect myself from potential legal trouble. But yeah, like it or not LE is a better necessity to keep things running smooth, most cops are good people who protect, serve, and withhold the constitution while others aren't giving LE a bad name and that's just what it is without drastic change and that's why it's also important to know your rights.
Going back to the OP question, if the under age person doesn't fall into one of the exceptions. he could also be charged with a federal offense - makes for a much more exciting experience.
Good luck with this one. LEs never believed me when I told the truth.
