CRIMES AND OFFENSES Offenses Against Public Order and Safety: Reserve to the State the Right to Bring Certain Civil Actions Against Firearms Manufacturers, Trade Associations, and Dealers

The Act declares that the lawful design, marketing, manufacture, or sale of firearms or ammunition do not constitute unreasonably dangerous activities and do not create a nuisance per se. The Act also gives the State of Georgia the right to bring suit against any trade association or dealer who conducts the activities listed above on behalf of any governmental unit created by the General Assembly or the Constitution of Georgia. However, the Act does not prohibit local governmental units from filing lawsuits based on breach of contract or breach of warranty theories of liability for firearms or ammunition purchased from the manufacturer or dealer. The Act codifies the rule of law stated in Division 1 of Rhodes v. R.G. Industries, Inc., 1 which held that the fact that the General Assembly had enacted comprehensive licensing schemes for suppliers and purchasers of handguns indicates that the legislature does not intend to ban the manufacture, sale, or use of such weapons and that legislators do not consider the marketing of such weapons to the public as an unreasonably dangerous activity. The Act applies to any action pending or brought on or after the Act takes effect