A Georgia House subcommittee heard testimony on a bill aimed at punishing gun owners who negligently allow firearms to fall into the hands of unsupervised children.
The bill, authored by Johns Creek Democratic Rep. Michelle Au, is not moving forward this year, but Au said getting the Republican-led Georgia House Public Safety & Homeland Security 2-A Subcommittee to hear it was a win in itself.
“Gun safety legislation traditionally does not get heard in the Georgia state legislature, so the fact of a hearing at all is a huge first step,” she said.
House Bill 161 would make it a crime to allow a gun to get into the hands of an unsupervised child. If it became law, it would be a high and aggravated misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 to allow a child access to a gun if the child fires it and injures or kills someone.