The form that I received from the Probate Court Administraion of Hall County, (Jan 31st 2007) which I took to the Detention Center where I was finger printed, stated in bold black and white print that the Probate Judge "SHALL ISSUE" in regards to my application for a GFL.
The following are undisputed shall-issue states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Also, please browse this URL:
http://www.packing.org/state/report_shall_issue.php
Here you will find that GA is a Shall Issue State, and you also will be able to see the complete list of all the Shall Issue States.
In addition, please use this reference URL:
http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/Cra ... issue.html and scroll down to Georgia, where you will find:
Georgia's concealed weapon permit law before 1989 was somewhat ambiguous. While one part of the concealed weapon statute states, "The judge of the probate court of each county may...issue a license..." a later portion specifies:
Not later than 60 days after the date of the application the judge of the probate court shall issue the applicant a license to carry any pistol or revolver if no facts establishing ineligibility have been reported and if the judge determines the applicant has met all the qualifications, is of good moral character, and has complied with all the requirements contained herein.
But was the issuance of a permit discretionary or not? The use of "may" in one place suggested that it was discretionary. Yet the language "shall issue" seems non-discretionary. The Georgia Attorney General resolved the question in 1989, when he issued an opinion holding that the judge, "has no discretion to exercise, but must issue permit unless provided with information indicating disqualification of applicant."