[docroc323]

Do 42-4-13, and 16-11-127 prohibit me from possessing and locking a firearm in my car in the prison parking lot when I’m at work at a Georgia prison? Signs are posted at the entrance to the parking lot that establish the “Guard Line.†These laws expressly prohibit any firearms past “The Guard Line.â€

My understanding of the law means I cannot have a gun on the premises (unless I have permission of the jailer …), which of course also means I am unprotected on my way to and from work. Did SB 308 have any effect for automobile carry in this respect? If not, I hope that Georgia Law can be amended to allow automobile carry in parking lots at prisons similar to that allowed on school property.

 

[psrumors]

My bet is you will not be the only one with a firearm in your vehicle while inside the guard line of any prison.

 

[mountainpass]

Inside the guard line is a different universe. Where the warden has complete control over everything. Can you park off-site?

 

[gtmatt]

I do not know the answer to this, but the Houston County courthouse and jail in Perry are in the same place and share a parking lot. There are big signs just after the entrance stating that's where the guard line is -- before you enter the actual parking area. Of course, there are no guards or anything else that would seem to justify placing a "guard" line there. If it is illegal to be behind the guard line with a firearm, you will have to walk quite a way from some other parking lot (there aren't any others close) if you want to take one in the car with you while visiting the courthouse for whatever business you may have there.

 

[Slingblade]

The "Guard Line" at the detention facility I worked at was about 10 feet from the building and as was said earlier, just about every vehicle in the parking lot had at least one firearm in it. Since we were still on the premises, but not inside the "Guard Line" we could keep weapons in our vehicles; they just had a form that we filled out stating that we would keep the vehicle locked and said firearm out of plain sight.

 

[psrumors]

At a lot of the prisons the guard line is at the road so when you enter the parking lot in fact you are inside the guard line.

To the OP, have you ran it up your chain of command?

 

[SheriffOconee]

They don't want us to keep firearms in our vehicles when we go to prisons....we have to surrender them either to the tower, or to the gate, depending on what we are there for.

 

[jdh31313]

I used to work at Georgia State Prison in Reidsville where the “Guard Line†encompassed the whole reservation which basically means that the area of a small city is effectively off limits? When I went to work for GDC we were strongly encouraged to obtain a GFL and to “not leave home with-out itâ€. We were also strongly encouraged to lock our vehicles at work to the point of discipline if vehicles were found unsecure. At one point during my employment, I was getting gas while on my way to work when I was approached by an extremely intoxicated individual that felt he had to tell me his life story. The story included how he was supposed to be in court and how he was to be sentenced that same day to about 5 years in prison. Let’s just say he wasn’t real happy about that this and I really thought it was going to be a fight until my riding partner walked back to the car from the store and the “drunk†staggered off. Another thing was how many times someone confused me as a Trooper, it really becomes a personal safety issue to not carry on the way to work especially in uniform. My 2 cents anyways.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

O.C.G.A. § 16-11-127 Carrying weapons in unauthorized locations; penalty

(a) As used in this Code section, the term:

. . .
(5) "Parking facility" means real property owned or leased by a . . . courthouse, jail, [or] prison . . . that has been designated by such . . . courthouse, jail, [or] prison . . . for the parking of motor vehicles at . . . such courthouse, jail, [or] prison . . .

(b) A person shall be guilty of carrying a weapon or long gun in an unauthorized location and punished as for a misdemeanor when he or she carries a weapon or long gun while:

. . .
(2) In a courthouse;

(3) In a jail or prison;

. . .

(d) Subsection (b) of this Code section shall not apply:

. . . (3) To a weapon or long gun possessed by a license holder which is under the possessor's control in a motor vehicle or is in a locked compartment of a motor vehicle or one which is in a locked container in or a locked firearms rack which is on a motor vehicle and such vehicle is parked in a parking facility.

 

[mb90535im]

So, it's a case of signs not carrying weight in GA?

 

[Hock25]

Interesting. My family and I annually hunt dove for opening weekend at Rogers/Reidsville State Prison. I've slept in the parking lot of Rogers, with guns in the car, awaiting the guards to open the registration table in the parking lot. Several of the allowed hunting areas abut guards' and caretakers' homes. There's no doubt in anyone's mind that every vehicle driving into the lot for dove registration contains long guns, and often they're displayed in a rack.

 

[SheriffOconee]

Lots of people brings guns into our Sheriff's Office for one reason or another. Maybe some people who post on this board have.
Cause it's against the law doesn't mean we HAVE to lock you up for it.

 

[Marine6212]

Lots of people brings guns into our Sheriff's Office for one reason or another. Maybe some people who post on this board have.
Cause it's against the law doesn't mean we HAVE to lock you up for it.

So your saying that it's up to the discreetion of the officer who see's the gun?

Marine6212

 

[SheriffOconee]

Discretion??? Of course we do,that has always been true.
very few laws REQUIRE us to make an arrest...a crime under the Family Violence Act where the officer has PC to identify the "primary aggressor" comes to mind....

 

[budder]

Lots of people brings guns into our Sheriff's Office for one reason or another. Maybe some people who post on this board have.
Cause it's against the law doesn't mean we HAVE to lock you up for it.

I have even exited a SO with more guns than I entered with...