Who Knew Politics Could Be So Funny

So I came across a blog today that brought my attention to the following situation and inspired me to write this post. The blog is by "Revolt of the Imbeciles" and you can read his take on the problem here: Georia on My (and out of its) Mind (great play on words by the way, I love that song).

If I were to move anywhere in the country right now, I would move to Nelson, Georgia. Now, I don't know much of the town, but I know that their city council has an excellent sense of humor. If politics were ever to be considered funny, they hit the nail on the head. They recently passed a law (on April Fools day, my absolute favorite holiday since I am an avid prankster) REQUIRING that all households have a firearm and ammunition. They are actually not insane of course, so they made sure to cover themselves with a few exemptions.

1. If you have a physical disability (and therefore cannot actually fire a firearm)
2. If you have a mental disability (don't want unstable people milling around with weaponry...absolutely understandable)
3. If you are a pauper (I kid you not, that is in the official manuscript of the ordinance, I think that fact shows that this is supposed to be a joke. Too broke to shoot.)
4. If you've ever had a felony (no brainer)
5. If ownership of a firearm is against household's religious beliefs 

Now here is where the funny comes in. Final exemption, if you personally believe that guns are bad, you are not required to carry a firearm. Basically, if you would like to own a gun, you are required to do so (kind of. Another funny part of this law is the fact that they openly admitted that they will not be enforcing the law nor is there any penalty to said law), if not, then you do not have to have a firearm. 

So why exactly is this funny? Well the federal government has really been pushing harder than women in labor to increase gun restrictions and gun regulation laws. Although the law created in Nelson, Georgia might as well be moot, they were able to pass a law that, from the outside, deregulates and "forces" all households to have firearms. It's a complete slap in the face to everyone pushing for more gun restriction.

The funny doesn't stop there. So of course they knew that this would be grabbing national attention. So naturally they would have to make a press statement of some kind to defend this new town ordinance. So a town official went on the news and told them that the new ordinance has been put into place to hopefully deter criminals and reduce crime.

Why is that funny? Well I said I didn't know much about the town, so I did some light research (mainly to see if what the original blogger had said was even true about the law) and here is what I found:

• Nelson, Georgia has a population of under 1,500 people (tinier than most high schools in the country)
• They only have ONE POLICE OFFICER (when he is on vacation, duty falls on the nearest county sheriff)
• There hasn't been violent crime there in OVER 5 YEARS (because they have a population of less than 100,000, this is not an official claim, because they are not required to keep those kind of statistical reports, but this was claimed by their only police staff and therefore I am trusting it)

So basically they claim this law will reduce violent crime from 0 to 0. That is absolutely life saving! I wish that everyone in the country had the same sense of humor (or the ability to appreciate a good joke or jab) and find this law to be completely sarcastic, but of course I am wrong, because to draw more attention to this hilarious prank, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence is suing the town for violation of the 2nd amendment. The suit claims that "the second amendment doesn't require anyone to have a gun, and government cannot require citizens to arm themselves."

What law says that government cannot require us to arm ourselves? They can require us to have manicured lawns and pay taxes and enact curfew laws, so who's to say that they cannot require us to have firearms? Especially in the name of safety! (sarcasm, in case you haven't noticed)  And besides, with the huge gap between upper and middle class, the majority of the country might as well be considered paupers and thus exempt from this law anyways.

Is gun violence bad? Of course. Is restricting firearms the answer? I personally don't think so. But the fact that the government has been trying so very hard to pass more restrictions and regulations and Nelson passes this...well for that, I give Nelson, Georgia a big round of applause. Well played Nelson, well played indeed, I see your humor and the statement you're trying to make and you have my support.

Here are links to my sources and just some general information for all you fact checkers out there:

Suing Nelson
Requiring Firearms
Nelson Might As Well Be Mayberry