Atlanta cannot enact local firearm ordinances — Georgia O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-173 reserves to the General Assembly all regulation of gun shows, firearm possession, ownership, transport, carry, transfer, sale, purchase, licensing, registration, and firearms dealers. Carry, purchase, and possession rules are uniform statewide.
O.C.G.A. Sec. 16-11-173 declares that the regulation of firearms is the express province of the General Assembly and prohibits any county, municipality, or local board of education from regulating 'by zoning, ordinance, resolution, or other enactment' the possession, ownership, transport, carrying, transfer, sale, purchase, licensing, or registration of firearms, firearms components, ammunition, gun shows, or firearms dealers. Atlanta retains a narrow set of remaining powers: it may regulate firearm discharge inside the city under A.O.C. Sec. 106-71, restrict carry by its own employees during work, and apply generally applicable zoning and business ordinances to firearms dealers as long as the rules are not more onerous than those applied to similar businesses. Statewide, Georgia adopted permitless (constitutional) carry under HB 218 / SB 319 (2022) — any 'lawful weapons carrier' (21+ adult eligible for a Georgia Weapons Carry License) may carry openly or concealed without a permit.
Any Atlanta ordinance conflicting with O.C.G.A. Sec. 16-11-173 is null and void. The statute creates a private cause of action: a person whose right was violated may recover actual damages, declaratory and injunctive relief, and reasonable attorney fees.
See how Atlanta's local firearms preemption rules stack up against other locations.
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