It was only a matter of time before a town named for a rifle-maker made it illegal to not own a gun.
That's what Nelson, Ga., councilman Duane Cronic is proposing.
Every homeowner in the town of about 1,400 would "own and maintain a firearm," he told WSB-TV in Atlanta.
The reason is that Nelson straddles two counties — Pickens and Cherokee — which slows police and emergency response times.
Nelson's own cop patrols the town for eight hours a day, leaving 16 hours a day when the town is "unguarded," the station reported.
"It's a deterrent ordinance," Cronic told the news channel. "It tells the potential intruder you better think twice."
Anyone not physically or mentally able to handle a gun, anyone who is a felon or has religious objections or is a "pauper" could be exempt, the proposed Family Protection Ordinance says.
The town is the namesake of John Nelson, early landowner, farmer and rifle-maker, according to the U.S. Geographic Names Information System.
Council may pass the law at its next meeting on April 1.
