Supporters of the new ordinance requiring gun ownership admit they were “largely seeking to make a point about gun rights.”
While lawmakers in states such as Colorado and Connecticut are passing stricter gun control legislation, on small town in northern Georgia has decided to take a completely different stance. According to the Associated Press, the city council in Nelson, Georgia, voted unanimously on Monday night to make gun ownership mandatory for all heads of household.
The Family Protection Ordinance, which goes into effect in 10 days, “contains no penalties and exempts anyone who objects, convicted felons and those with certain mental and physical disabilities.” Duane Cronic, the city councilman who sponsored the measure, said he realizes the ordinance isn’t going to be enforced, but he still believes it will make the town safer. He said,
I likened it to a security sign that people put up in their front yards. Some people have security systems, some people don’t, but they put those signs up. I really felt like this ordinance was a security sign for our city … Basically it was a deterrent ordinance to tell potential criminals they might want to go on down the road a little bit.
The City Council also intends for the ordinance to halt “any future attempt by the federal government to confiscate personal firearms.” The measure requires every head of household in the town that has a population of about 1,300 to own both a gun and ammunition to “provide for the emergency management of the city” and to “provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants.”
Photo: AP/Johnny Clark