Ga. Town Makes Guns Mandatory

As lawmakers in Connecticut unveiled tough new gun control measures, a small city in northern Georgia was speeding in the opposite direction. The Family Protection Ordinance that was approved unanimously by the city council in Nelson, population 1,300, makes gun ownership mandatory for all heads of household, the AP reports. The ordinance, however, makes exemptions for convicted felons, people with certain disabilities—and anybody who objects to gun ownership.

The councilman who sponsored the measure says he believes it will make the city safer, even with the exemptions. "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 says. "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." According to the council's agenda, the ordinance is also a move to block "any future attempt by the federal government to confiscate personal firearms." (More Georgia stories.)