Georgia City Approves Ordinance Requiring Every Citizen to Own a Gun
- Details
- Category: Atlanta
- Published on Wednesday, 06 March 2013 10:07
- Written by The Atlanta Daily World
- Hits: 67
- Post 06 March 2013
- By Atlanta Daily World
- Hits: 50
In the small town of Nelson, Ga., located just north of Atlanta, it may soon be a requirement of every head of household to own a gun. Government leaders in the city gave preliminary approval to an ordinance that would require the head of every household in the city of 1,300 to maintain a firearm and ammunition.
The proposal is patterned after a law passed in the 1980s in Kennesaw, Ga., where supporters say the requirement has helped keep crime down, according to WXIA.
The measure is being promoted by the chairman of the local Tea Party, who says the organization wants to take the issue countywide and then statewide.
Rather than a real mechanism for enforcement, though, the legislation appears to be designed to send a message.
Nelson council member Edith Portillo told WXIA the law would not be obligatory, but rather is intended to send a message to Washington lawmakers who want to restrict gun ownership.
"Our government at the moment, they want to take as much away from us as they can," she said.
The only people exempt from keeping a firearm in their household, according to the proposal are "felons, paupers, and anyone with a mental or physical disability."
There was no specific definition of what a pauper was. The law would, however, also exempt "anyone opposed to maintaining firearms" from the requirement.
Nelson is located partly in Pickens County and mostly in Cherokee County.
The Nelson City Council is scheduled to vote on the issue in April.
