April 2, 2013 by David K. Sutton
Gun Laws: Nelson, Georgia to Newtown, Connecticut
The small city of Nelson, GA, population 1300, has passed a new ordinance requiring all residents to own a gun. Yes, you read that correctly. I speculate that at least one of the people responsible for this new law opposed the Affordable Care Act’s “individual mandate,” on the grounds of freedom of choice and individual liberty. But when it comes to guns? You’ll buy one and you’ll like it, or else…
Well actually, this ordinance has no teeth because Nelson, GA simply wanted to make a statement about gun rights and gun ownership in America. They want you to know they are packing, and if the feds come to take their guns, which they believe is only a matter of time, it will be from their cold dead hands. According to the city council, the ordinance should be interpreted as “opposition” to any “future attempt by the federal government to confiscate personal firearms.”
“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,” said City Councilman Duane Cronic.
Travel a full-driving-day north and you will arrive in Connecticut, the possible home of some of the toughest new gun laws in the country. Connecticut is also the state most recently victimized by mass gun violence with the horrific shooting-spree at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. On Monday, lawmakers in Connecticut announced a gun control deal that will include a ban on high-capacity magazines, and background checks for all gun purchases. The proposed new legislation (that still requires a vote) will also extend the state’s existing assault weapons ban to include 100 new firearms.
The deal includes support from Republican legislators in the state, something Democrats did not need to do since the governor is a Democrat and their party controls both chambers. Obviously blue state Republicans are a different kind of Republican than red state Republicans, but in reaching a bipartisan agreement, Connecticut could be the blueprint for other states to follow.
“No gun owner will lose their gun,” said Republican House Minority Leader, Lawrence Cafero. “No gun owner will lose their magazines.” Unlike the city council in Nelson, GA, this is a rational Republican response to tough and necessary new gun laws.
