O.C.G.A.
O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 16-11-134 (2019)

Discharging firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
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(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to discharge a firearm while: (1) Under the influence of alcohol or any drug or any combination of alcohol and any drug to the extent that it is unsafe for the person to discharge such firearm except in the defense of life, health, and property; (2) The person’s alcohol concentration is 0.08 grams or more at any time while discharging such firearm or within three hours after such discharge of such firearm from alcohol consumed before such discharge ended; or (3) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this Code section, there is any amount of marijuana or a controlled substance, as defined in Code Section 16-13-21, present in the person’s blood or urine, or both, including the metabolites and derivatives of each or both without regard to whether or not any alcohol is present in the person’s breath or blood. (b) The fact that any person charged with violating this Code section is or has been legally entitled to use a drug shall not constitute a defense against any charge of violating this Code section; provided,

however, that such person shall not be in violation of this Code section unless such person is rendered incapable of possessing or discharging a firearm safely as a result of using a drug other than alcohol which such person is legally entitled to use. (c) Any person convicted of violating subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.

History

(Code 1981, § 16-11-134, enacted by Ga. L. 1995, p. 139, § 1.)

Annotations

Code Commission notes. - Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1995, this Code section, originally designated as Code Section 16-11-133, was redesignated as Code Section 16-11-134. Editor’s notes. - Ga. L. 1995, p. 139, § 7, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the act shall only apply to the sale and transfer of handguns after January 1, 1996, and that no local ordinance which was in effect on March 22,

1995, shall be affected by Code Section 16-11-184 until January 1, 1996, at which time, unless enacted subsequent to March 22, 1995, as provided by that Code section, any such ordinance shall be of no further force or effect, and further provides that no ordinance or regulation attempting to regulate firearms in any manner shall be enacted by any county, city, or municipality after July 1, 1995.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2002–2023 · leading case: Smith v. State, 882 S.E.2d 289 (Ga. 2022).
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Smith v. State, 882 S.E.2d 289 (Ga. 2022). · cites it 8× “Smith’s requested involuntary manslaughter instruction was predicated on Smith having allegedly committed the misdemeanor offenses of discharging a firearm while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, OCGA § 16-11-134,7 and discharging a firearm on the property of 7 OCGA §…”
Savage v. State, 558 S.E.2d 701 (Ga. 2002). · cites it 6× “3 He claims that the charge was warranted because the evidence supported the misdemeanor offenses of pointing a gun at another, OCGA § 16-11-102; 4 reckless conduct, OCGA § 16-5-60; 5 and discharging a *695 firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, OCGA § 16-11-134.…”
Propst v. State, 788 S.E.2d 484 (Ga. 2016). “2 (prohibiting carrying a weapon in unauthorized locations); § 16-11-132 (prohibiting possession of a handgun by a person under 18); and, § 16-11-134 (making it unlawful to discharge a firearm while under the influence).”
Johnson v. State, 839 S.E.2d 521 (Ga. 2020). · cites it 2× “In addition to these statutes that restrict the possession and carrying of firearms, Title 16, Chapter 11, Article 4, Part 3 also includes provisions that forbid the alteration or counterfeiting of a weapons carry license, OCGA § 16- 11-129 (g), and the discharge of firearms by…”
Chambliss v. State, 896 S.E.2d 469 (Ga. 2023). · cites it 4× “357, 363-364 (3) (882 SE2d 289) (2022) (concluding the trial court did not err by refusing to in- struct the jury on unlawful act involuntary manslaughter predi- cated on the misdemeanors of discharging a firearm while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, OCGA § 16-11-134,…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.