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The town of Nelson, Georgia, followed through on its
proposal to require residents to own a gun Monday night following a unanimous vote by the city council.
WGCL-TV
reported that the law will apply to heads of household, with exceptions built in for the disabled, mentally ill and those objecting to gun ownership for religious reasons. Convicted felons will not be allowed to own a firearm.
"If anything should happen that they would need to use a firearm, [now] they are backed up by their government, their city government," council member Edith Portillo told the station.
However,
according to the Associated Press, another council member, Duane Cronic, said the new "Family Protection Ordinance" will not be enforced, making it more of a symbolic gesture.
"I likened it to a security sign that people put up in their front yards," Cronic said. "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."
