Last week, April 2, the Georgia General Assembly adjourned Sine Die, marking the end of the 2026 legislative session. Some sportsmen-related bills were sent to the Governor, and, sadly, one fell short of completing the legislative process and ran out of time.
Key Victories for Georgia Sportsmen
- HB 946 (Feral Hog Control): This bill eliminates the requirement of a trapping license for feral hogs and authorizes the use of drones for scouting and hog hunting from vehicles on private land.
- SB 204 (Firearm Preemption): This bill prevents cities and counties from enacting their own storage mandates, ensuring your rights don’t change every time you cross a county line.
- HB 115 & HB 443: These bills address critical infrastructure and regulatory updates, including boat safety and reef/migratory fish endorsements, ensuring our waterways remain accessible and managed for the long term.
Formal Recognition of Regulated Trapping
HR 1928 (Recognizing Regulated Trapping): This resolution officially passed the House on March 25. Unlike a typical “bill” that creates new laws and requires approval from both chambers and the Governor, HR 1928 is a Simple Resolution. This means it is a formal expression of the House’s position and requires only a single-chamber vote to be finalized. By adopting this, the Georgia House has officially gone on the record recognizing trapping as a vital, ethical, and scientific conservation tool. This victory creates a powerful legislative precedent that we can use to defend against future anti-trapping attacks.
Legislative Hurdles and Suppressor Reform
We faced a disappointing hurdle with HB 1324 / SB 499. Despite a strong push to repeal the state-level prohibition on suppressors, which would align the state with existing federal law, both HB 1324 and SB 499 failed to pass the House before the clock ran out.
Review a complete list of monitored bills via the Interactive Legislative Map.
The Ongoing Fight to Protect Our Heritage
Even though the 2026 legislative session is over, the work never truly ends. Anti-sportsman groups are already eyeing ways to chip away at our hunting, fishing, and trapping rights and restrict access to public lands beyond the legislature. We’ve seen across the country how quickly a “win” can turn into a defensive battle if we get complacent.
Stay vigilant, stay active, and keep your boots on the ground. We cannot stand alone in this fight to protect our heritage. You must rally your family and friends to join the fight. Share with them what is at stake – our future. Together, we can protect what matters most and push back against those who threaten our values, our way of life, and our traditions.
We have the momentum, but we must always stay one step ahead of those who seek to undermine and abolish our lifestyle.
Please share this message with fellow sportsmen to help defend our hunting, fishing, and trapping heritage in the Peach State.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance guarantees hunting, fishing and trapping for the American sportsman now and forever. We’re there when sportsmen need us most. We are the only organization specifically created to protect the individual hunter, angler and trapper – no matter the threat. We will never compromise when it comes to defending our way of life in the courts, in the legislatures, in the public square and at the ballot box. We make this promise to the American sportsman: we will never give up and never give in while proudly securing our future against those seeking to destroy our values, beliefs, and traditions. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
