Current Georgia law provides a person commits criminal trespass by entering on to the property of another with an unlawful purpose or entering (or remaining) on such property after receiving certain notice that entrance is forbidden. Criminal trespass is punished as a misdemeanor.
This bill would expand criminal trespass to include simply entering onto the property of another without the consent of the owner. The bill does not include any exemptions for entries made with any types of lawful (or, more alarmingly, any First Amendment protected) conduct.
The ACLU of Georgia opposes this bill. This bill is an express bar on many types of protected conduct without exemption. While the law is likely ultimately unenforceable as applied to protected acts, no one should risk arrest to exercise their rights.
