WASHINGTON, April 2 (RIA Novosti) – Residents of Nelson, Georgia have 10 days to purchase guns and ammunition under a new ordinance that makes their small city the latest in a growing number of communities across the United States to encourage gun ownership.
"We want to take this countywide then go statewide and to other states, hopefully," said Bill McNiff, who led a campaign in support of the ordinance, in an interview with local television station WXIA.
The city council voted 5-0 Monday night to approve the new Family Protection Ordinance, which requires a gun and ammunition for each household to "provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants."
The Nelson ordinance is more bark than bite. Residents who object for personal or religious reasons, or who can’t afford to purchase a gun, can opt out without penalty, and convicted felons and those with certain mental or physical disabilities are exempt.
"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," said councilman Duane Cronic, who sponsored the proposal, according to The Associated Press.
In the midst of a national debate on gun control, Nelson, population 1,300, is the latest US city to push its residents into gun ownership.
Not far from Nelson, the town of Kennesaw, Georgia has had a gun requirement on its books since 1982, and the city website claims, “The burglary rate in Kennesaw declined and even today, the city has the lowest crime rate in Cobb County.”
In Tucson, Arizona, the Armed Citizen Project says it has raised more than $12,000 in donations to provide guns and training for single women and homeowners in the city’s most troubled neighborhoods, part of a nationwide effort to arm people in at least 15 cities by the end of the year.
Officials in Spring City, Utah, backed off of an ordinance to require gun ownership, voting instead earlier this year to recommend a gun for each household.
Many people in Nelson already have guns, said resident Donna Hamby.
"I've lived here all my life and most everybody who's original residents and always lived here have always had firearms," Hamby told WXIA.
Part of the point of the new ordinance, according to the city council agenda, is "opposition of any future attempt by the federal government to confiscate personal firearms," reported The Associated Press.
City council member Edith Portillo said it’s about sending a message to lawmakers in Washington.
"Our government at the moment, they want to take as much away from us as they can," Portillo told WXIA.
