In Georgia, no misdemeanor on its own strips you of the right to own a gun under state law, but federal law does. The misdemeanors that prohibit gun ownership in Georgia are those that qualify as a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” under federal law, and the ban is permanent. A second federal rule disarms anyone subject to a qualifying domestic violence protective order for as long as the order is in effect. Several Georgia misdemeanors also disqualify you from obtaining a weapons carry license, even though the state now allows permitless carry.
The Federal Domestic Violence Misdemeanor Ban
The main way a misdemeanor costs you your firearms in Georgia is through 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9). Anyone convicted of a qualifying misdemeanor crime of domestic violence cannot possess, ship, or receive any firearm or ammunition.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts This is a lifetime ban unless the conviction is later expunged, set aside, or pardoned.
A misdemeanor qualifies when two things are true. The offense must involve the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon. And the offender must have a specific relationship with the victim: a current or former spouse, a parent or guardian of the victim, someone who shares a child with the victim, a current or former cohabitant, or someone in a dating relationship with the victim.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions The dating-partner category was added in 2022 by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
The Georgia charging label does not control. A conviction prosecuted as ordinary simple battery, simple assault, or battery can still qualify if the force element and the domestic relationship are present.3Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions That catches a lot of people off guard. A plea to a routine battery charge in a Georgia state court can trigger a permanent federal firearms ban if the victim was a spouse or partner.
Federal law adds one procedural safeguard. The conviction counts only if the defendant was represented by counsel or knowingly waived counsel, and if entitled to a jury trial, exercised or knowingly waived that right.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
The Dating Partner Exception
For dating-relationship convictions only, the ban can lift automatically. If you have no more than one qualifying dating-partner conviction, are not otherwise prohibited, and five years have passed since the later of your conviction or completion of any sentence and supervision, the prohibition ends on its own, provided you have not been convicted of another violent offense in the meantime.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions This exception does not apply to spouses, former spouses, cohabitants, or co-parents. Those convictions remain a lifetime ban absent a pardon or expungement.
Protective Orders Trigger the Same Ban Without a Conviction
You can lose your gun rights without any conviction at all. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), a person subject to a qualifying domestic violence protective order is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition for the life of the order.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The Supreme Court upheld this provision in 2024 in United States v. Rahimi.4Supreme Court of the United States. United States v. Rahimi, No. 22-915
The order must meet three conditions. It must be issued after a hearing where you had actual notice and an opportunity to participate. It must restrain you from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or that partner’s child. And it must either include a judicial finding that you pose a credible threat to the physical safety of the partner or child, or explicitly prohibit you from using or threatening physical force against them.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Violating this ban carries up to 15 years in federal prison.
Family violence protective orders issued under Georgia’s Family Violence Act frequently satisfy these criteria. Georgia defines family violence broadly to cover offenses like battery, simple assault, stalking, and criminal trespass between spouses, parents and children, co-parents, stepparents and stepchildren, or current or former household members.5Justia. Georgia Code 19-13-1 – Family Violence Defined If a Georgia judge issues such an order after a contested hearing with a credible-threat finding, you cannot lawfully possess any firearm while the order is active.
Why Georgia State Law Alone Doesn’t Disarm Misdemeanants
Georgia takes a different approach than many states. Misdemeanor convictions in Georgia do not strip major civil rights, and that includes the right to possess firearms. The Georgia Attorney General’s office has confirmed this directly, pointing out that unlike federal law, Georgia’s own statutes do not take gun rights from people convicted of misdemeanors.6Georgia Attorney General’s Office. Official Opinion 96-25 Georgia’s firearms restriction statute, O.C.G.A. § 16-11-131, reaches only convicted felons and people on probation as felony first offenders.7Justia. Georgia Code 16-11-131 – Possession of Firearms by Convicted Felons and First Offender Probationers
That gap confuses people. A Georgia resident convicted of family violence battery in state court faces no state ban on owning a gun. But if the offense fits the federal MCDV definition, that same person commits a federal felony every time they handle a firearm. The prohibition is real and enforceable even though it is not written into Georgia’s code.
Indirect Georgia Restrictions After a Misdemeanor
Two state mechanisms still restrict firearm access after a Georgia misdemeanor in practical terms.
Probation Conditions
Georgia’s standard conditions of community supervision prohibit anyone under supervision from possessing firearms, ammunition, explosives, or other deadly weapons.8Georgia Department of Community Supervision. Standard Conditions of Supervision If you are sentenced to probation on any misdemeanor, that condition runs the full length of your supervision. Violating it can result in revocation and incarceration. The restriction ends when probation ends.
People ordered into a Family Violence Intervention Program face an added layer: program rules require participants to keep firearms out of their possession and out of the home while enrolled and while under a court order or supervision.
Weapons Carry License Disqualifiers
Georgia now allows permitless carry for any “lawful weapons carrier,” and the state confirms you do not need a weapons carry license to purchase or carry a firearm.9Georgia.gov. Apply for a Firearms License The license still exists mainly for reciprocity with other states. Under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-129, several misdemeanor-related issues block you from obtaining one:
- Any federal firearms prohibition under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) or (n), which captures domestic violence misdemeanor convictions and active protective orders.
- A conviction for manufacturing or distributing a controlled substance. A misdemeanor conviction for use or possession of a controlled substance makes you ineligible for five years, and a second such conviction within that period extends the disqualification.
- A conviction under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-127 for carrying a weapon in an unauthorized location, which triggers a five-year wait before you can apply.
- Prior revocation of a license, which blocks reapplication for three years from the revocation date.
Unlawful carrying itself is a misdemeanor for a first offense and a felony for a second offense within five years.11Justia. Georgia Code 16-11-126 – Having or Carrying Handguns, Long Guns, and Other Weapons
First Offender Pleas Carry Real Federal Risk
Georgia’s First Offender Act lets a judge sentence someone without entering a formal conviction. Complete probation and all terms, and you are exonerated and discharged by operation of law, with no conviction on your Georgia record.12Justia. Georgia Code 42-8-60 – Probation Prior to Adjudication of Guilt You can truthfully say you have not been convicted of a crime.
Federal firearms law uses its own definitions. For most offenses, 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20) ties the question of what counts as a conviction to the law of the jurisdiction where the proceedings occurred, and an expunged or set-aside conviction does not count. But for misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence, § 921(a)(33) sets its own rules on when an expungement or pardon lifts the ban.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions That separate track means federal authorities may evaluate a discharged first offender plea independently. During probation you are prohibited either way by Georgia’s standard supervision conditions. After discharge, whether federal law treats the completed first offender sentence as a conviction for MCDV purposes carries enough uncertainty that anyone in this position should talk to a firearms attorney before buying or possessing a gun.
Getting Your Gun Rights Back
For restrictions tied to Georgia probation, your state-law rights return automatically when supervision ends. For a protective order prohibition, the federal ban lifts when the order expires or is dissolved.
The federal lifetime ban for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is the hardest to lift. Federal law removes the prohibition only if the conviction has been expunged, set aside, or pardoned, or if civil rights have been restored, and only if the pardon or restoration does not expressly bar firearm possession.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
In Georgia, the main route is a pardon from the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. The Board offers a category called “Pardon Including the Restoration of the Right to Bear Firearms,” which is an order of official forgiveness that specifically restores your right to receive, possess, or transport a firearm.13State Board of Pardons and Paroles. Pardons and Restoration of Rights You have to request this specific pardon; a general pardon alone does not restore gun rights. To be eligible, you must have:
- Completed all sentences at least five years before applying
- Lived a law-abiding life during those five years
- No pending criminal charges
- All fines paid in full
A pardon is discretionary. The Board weighs your reputation and your conduct since you finished your sentence, and nothing guarantees approval.
Record Restriction Won’t Work for Family Violence
Georgia lets people with certain misdemeanor convictions petition to restrict access to their criminal history after completing their sentence and staying conviction-free for at least four years. The statute, however, specifically excludes family violence offenses. You cannot restrict a conviction for family violence simple assault, family violence simple battery, family violence battery, family violence stalking, or violating a family violence protective order.14Justia. Georgia Code 35-3-37 – Criminal History Record Information Those are the same convictions most likely to trigger the federal ban. Record restriction is not a workaround for restoring gun rights after a Georgia domestic violence misdemeanor. A pardon is the real option.