Are Georgia Firearms Licenses public record?

A Darn good question.
You may wish to ask the same at Georgia Packing there are a couple of Very sharp legal eagles there.

I think any license issued by the state is public record. How could it not be?

Do you need a license to buy a firearm in Georgia?

Dang, I always thought Georgia was one of the "good" states.

Seriously, Georgia has been high on my list of refuges, so I'd really like to know.

Don't need a license in Maryland!

GFL is for carry and exempts you from having to wait for a check.

I believe he's talking about a Concealed Carry License...not a purchase license.

The Georgia Firearms License is our carry permit. It allows you to carry open or concealed, and exempts you from NICS checks.

You do not need a permit to purchase a gun in Georgia. But , if you buy from an FFL holder, you must still run through the "background check" loop OR have a Georgia Firearms License which will exempt you from the background check. To buy from a private seller: see the gun, dicker on the price, pay the price, take it home.

Well that's better!

My confidence in Georgia is restored.

Georgia remains near the top of my list.

Our concealed carry laws are pretty weak, despite the fact that they were improved some earlier this year.

You still can't carry at a "public gathering". Problem is, no one will define what a public gathering is. One poor sap got arrested near Atlanta by some local police because he was carrying at a Walmart, and they tried to claim that was a public gathering.

The best part is that Georgia licenses the person (as it should be), not the gun. You don't even need to own a gun to get the permit/license. If you own several guns, you can carry according to your mood.

The laws will be much better as soon as we get rid of that pesky Public Gathering law.

If your employer has a simple background check done by the local law enforcement agency it is a Criminal History Consent Form. There are only three boxes to check.
1. No identifiable record in GCIC.
2. See attached printout from search.
3. Positive ID can not be made without fingerprint comparason.

I do not know if there is a list somewhere they can access. The standard "background check" is for criminal activity.

Georgia Gun Licenses not public record

I called the clerk at the Marriage License and Pistol Toters License(now the Firearms License ) office in Bibb County, (Macon, Georgia) and they assured me that the Georgia Firearms Licenses were NOT public record.

I am not sure you got accurate information about Georgia licenses not being public record. I don't see how the state could refuse to provide this information upon request under freedom of information laws.

Wouldn't it suck if the State refused to tell you whether your doctor was licensed?

Whether you agree or not, in most states concealed carry is a priviledge granted by the state by license.

In Pickens County, Ga. the list of holders of CCW/ Ga. Firearms License is available to "proper authorities" only. FOI can be refused if the subject is sensitive enough to represent a threat to the safety and well-being.

Not too long ago, a newspaper in Virginia, in Roanoke, obtained a list of CCW holders for that county. A judge ruled that they could NOT post them, nor make them available for review.

Wouldn't it suck if the State refused to tell you whether your doctor was licensed?

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Completely different, not even comparable. Hippocratic oath, a profession caring for the public state licensing required to be a doctor vs. the privacy of someone protecting themselves?

Not even an argument here.

I disagree, and feel it is comparable, since both require licenses. This is a drawback to allowing concealed carry to be a priviledge licensed by the state. The state has to be accountable for licensing, and the only way to ensure that the state is accountable is to allow the free flow of information to the public.

I don't care if they publish my name on a list of permit holders or not. Many gun owners tend to be secretive about their gun ownership, often to their detriment.

Are there any other state issued licenses that the public is not allowed to know about?

I don't care if they publish my name on a list of permit holders or not. Many gun owners tend to be secretive about their gun ownership, often to their detriment.

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Where do you get this stuff from?

Carrying a concealed weapon requires a 'permit'. Working on somebodies body, such as a doctor does, requires an extensive education, many accreditations, and a license.

The state has to be accountable for licensing

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Exactly who is the state accountable to for the issuing of ccw permits?

No need to get personal, I believe we have a diference of opinion. The state is accountable to its citizens for issuing permits. There is no way for the citizens to know if permits are issued fairly and in accordance with law unless the records are available for public scrutiny. I don't see why you should worry much about whether your name is in some public record as being a permit holder. There are already lots of ways for people to find out that you are a gun owner. Your mailman knows, if you subscribe to any gun magazines or are a member of the NRA. Your ISP knows you access gun websites. Your neighbors have probably seen you buying ammo at Walmart. The UPS man knows he has delivered ammo to your house... Its just really not a secret.

The argument has been made that if this information is made public, you might be targeted for some kind of crime? Why would a criminal want to break in on me knowing that I have a gun? If he comes when I am not here, how is he going to crack the half ton safe? Fifty percent of US households have a gun anyway, so its going to be pretty simple to find someone with a gun.

I would be all for eliminating the permit process completely, and going with a Vermont or Alaska type plan, where any legal citizen can carry without a permit. No need for a list in that situation. But if the government is going to get to decide who can and cannot enjoy the priviledge of concealed carry, then there needs to be some way to review the records. All other licensing information is available to the public. Would you favor the government being able to issue permits with no oversight or scrutiny? Do you trust them to do it fairly unless they know they are being watched?

No need to get personal, I believe we have a diference of opinion. The state is accountable to its citizens for issuing permits. There is no way for the citizens to know if permits are issued fairly and in accordance with law unless the records are available for public scrutiny. I don't see why you should worry much about whether your name is in some public record as being a permit holder.

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Not getting personal, just practical.

It has been detailed on this board many times as to why it would be dangerous to the holder if his permit were to be public record. With over 6000+ posts I find it hard to believe that you haven't yet stumbled upon that conversation here yet.

I don't have the same UPS or USPS man every day for them to know. My ISP isn't in the business of logging or statistics as far as I know, and my neighbors have absolutely no idea that I carry. My wife doesn't even know this, nor should she.

I can't count on other people to be rational and mature and handle themselves intelligently, my wife, brothers, and friends included. Nobody can know that I carry a loaded weapon whenever I decide to carry it. It is not safe for anyone else to know, lest they be the 'decider' in such a situation that may or may not call for drawing a weapon. I can't believe that you could have such a problem understanding such a concept.

My carry weapon is for me to know, period.

My carry weapon is for me to know, period.

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You, and any person working in your state government that issues you the Concealed Carry Permit, and any other person they may inform along the way or that can get access to those records.

I see where Lone_Gunman is going with this, however I think most states get around the issue of proper licensing by going with the "Shall Issue" permits, which means that assuming you pass a criminal background check, you get a permit no matter what else. It's rather difficult to falsify that kind of information to prevent someone from getting a license.

Now, the states in which permits are "May Issue" and it's up to the discretion of the local sheriff or whatnot, in those situations knowing who has a CCL and who doesn't would seem to be more of an issue.

My carry weapon is for me to know, period.

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Without transparency in government and easy flow of information from the government to citizens, there is no way to ensure that permits are being handed out fairly. You seem to favor secret government records that the public cannot access or audit. This is generally a bad idea.

This is an unintended consequence of the permit process. All state licenses pretty much have to be available for public scrutiny in order to ensure fairness, whether its a medical license, liquor license, gun permit, etc.

Are there any other licenses out there that the public is barred from having knowledge of?

Finally, I don't know of any case where the release of CCW information has resulted in an permit holder becoming the target of a crime. If anything, I believe it would make him less of a target. I think paranoia about this is mostly in the minds of gun owners. If you really believe that no one is paying attention when they deliver gun related paraphenalia to your home, I think you are deluding yourself as well. The fact that you don't always have the same UPS or USPS man just means there are more people out there who know of your hobby.

i work for the government, i have no secrets and the "man" knows everything so to me it really dosen't bother me one way or another.

there is no way to ensure that permits are being handed out fairly

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Are you serious? I learned a LONG LONG LONG time ago that there is not a whole lot fair in life, much less the governing of man.

Finally, I don't know of any case where the release of CCW information has resulted in an permit holder becoming the target of a crime. If anything, I believe it would make him less of a target.

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You ever seen someone wearing a fur coat get doused with paint or such? You ever seen it on the news or in the paper? Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought. You think you're immune to such treatment as a gun toter? I don't. Like I said, that infomation is for ME TO KNOW, and NOT public record.

The fact that you don't always have the same UPS or USPS man just means there are more people out there who know of your hobby.

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Again, you HAVE to be kidding. Do you for one second think that any delivery person keeps a tabulation of deliveries that they make in a day, month, year?

I am not in the least bid worried about it.