By Susan Duclos
The City Council of Nelson Georgia has adopted a new ordinance, called Family Protection Ordinance, requiring the head of households to own 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."
The purpose of the ordinance is more of a statement about gun rights, as well as "opposition of any future attempt by the federal government to confiscate personal firearms."
City Councilman Duane Cronic, who sponsored the measure, said he knows the ordinance won't be enforced but he still believes it will make the town safer.The city's population is roughly 1,300 and the ordinance goes into effect in 10 days, and it exempts those who object, felons and those with certain mental and physical disabilities.
"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," he said. "I really felt like this ordinance was a security sign for our city."
The city's police officer, Heath Mitchell, supports the new law, believing it will act as a deterrent against crime, stating "[Criminals are] going to think twice before they come into Nelson and cause harm or break and entering, commit a theft, any type of criminal activity,” Mitchell said. “I know I would if I was a bad guy."
This law is fashioned after another law in Kennesaw, Georgia, which was passed in 1982, also requiring the head of households to own a gun and ammunition to " protect
the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants."Kennesaw, is about 30 miles northwest of Atlanta, had about 5,000 people when its City Council adopted an ordinance and now has about 30,000 residents.
Kennesaw has had nine homicides in the 30 years since the ordinance was adopted, less than half involved guns.
