Georgia city mandates gun ownership

Nelson, Ga. – Backers of legislation requiring residents of Nelson, Ga., to own and maintain a firearm acknowledge they were largely attempting to make a point about the town’s stance on second amendment rights.

According to AP reports, The Family Protection Ordinance, as it is called, was unanimously adopted April 1 by the Nelson City Council. The new law requires the every head of every household own a gun and ammunition in an attempt to foster security, deter crime and promote safety in the community.

The ordinance includes no penalties for those who do not abide by it, and exempts anyone objecting to it. Previsions were also made for felons and the mentally ill.

Nelson, a city of 1,300 about 50 miles north of Atlanta, modeled its new law after a similar one adopted in 1982 by Atlanta suburb, Kennesaw. At the time, Kennesaw officials worried that growth in Atlanta could bring crime to their community, however the AP reports that Kennesaw police have acknowledged the ordinance is difficult to enforce, and that they have made no attempt to do so.

Nelson City Councilman Duane Cronic, who sponsored the measure, knows that the ordinance will not be enforced, but he still thinks it will make the town safer.

“I likened it to a security sign that people put up in their front yards,” he told the AP, “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.”

Proponents of the bill also claimed the ordinance would help deter any federal legislation attempting to confiscate citizens' firearms.