Court Opinion

ID: 9583671
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:41:01.727128+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:58:33.705514
License: Public Domain

Deen, Presiding Judge,
concurring specially.
I generally agree with the majority’s analysis of the effect of the 1976 Amendment to Code Ann. § 26-901 (now, as amended further, OCGA § 16-11-126), but am compelled to express some reservations over too literal application and automatic approach and adherence to McCroy v. State, 155 Ga. App. 777 (2) (272 SE2d 747) (1980).
*452As explained by the majority, the 1976 Amendment now embodied in OCGA § 16-11-126 (c) (Code Ann. § 26-2901) delineates certain limited permissible ways where one may conceal a firearm. That provision clearly does not imply that carrying a firearm in any other manner constitutes concealing a weapon; such a reading would in part obviate OCGA § 16-11-126 (a) (Code Ann. § 26-2901).
Whether a weapon is carried “in an open manner and fully exposed to view” necessarily involves a case-by-case determination, and the majority’s survey of the previous case law reveals how very liberally this court has construed that phrase. We may pause to wonder if this court has in effect substituted the requirement of full exposure to view with the requirement only that the weapon not be completely concealed.
This court in recent cases may have allowed certain factors other than the physical placement of the handgun or firearm to influence its review of a determination of whether a violation of the statute occurred.
In McCroy, this court reversed a conviction because all the witnesses had perceived that the defendant carried a gun, despite the fact that only the gun handle was exposed from the defendant’s pants’ pocket. This court applies the same rationale in the case at bar. In both the instant case and McCroy, however, the witnesses were aware that the defendant had a handgun or firearm before they actually approached him. Such prior knowledge could and would aid one in detecting even a fully concealed weapon, much less one partially concealed. This court appears to have not considered or given enough weight to that practicality in emphasizing just how easily the witnesses recognized the defendant carried a firearm.
Upon reflection, it is observed that the decisions of this court in McCroy and this case may have strayed somewhat from the legislature’s intent to control strictly the carrying of concealed weapons. It seems to me the better construction of the phrase “fully exposed to view” should require at least exposure of most of the weapon, rather than merely its handle or barrel. If the court continues to adhere to the rule in McCroy, perhaps the General Assembly should possibly consider narrowing our definition of “fully exposed to view.” The law in Georgia today would appear to allow a lady, who has a proper license, to carry a handgun in her hand with her finger on the trigger, or, in her blouse, skirt or pants’ pocket if the handle or barrel is sticking out. She could not palm a small handgun so that its handle and barrel would not allow a reasonable person to detect what she had. She may stick it in her boots if the handle or barrel is sticking out but may not place it in her boots totally out of sight. She may keep it in her purse concealed or with the handle *453sticking out. A weapon may be carried while stuck under one’s belt if his coat is off but while wearing one’s coat it must be in a holster, hipgrip or similar device, all subject to prohibitions of carrying it to public gatherings.