More Communities Make Gun Ownership Mandatory

[Ben]

What do you all think of these types of proposals? Good or bad for gun owners?

On the legal side, I'm as much against mandatory gun ownership as I am against mandatory gun control. What I like about these proposals is that most all of them state they will, in fact, not be mandatory, based on all the exclusions for those who don't want to own a gun. To me, this sends a good philosophical message regarding the views on freedom of choice of pro-gun people versus anti-gun people.

I saw a few of the proposals stated they were created to, "pre-empt gun control legislation". Not sure how they would do that.

If nothing else, I guess it's good advertisement for attracting new residents that are like-minded to the community. :)

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/09/us-communities-seek-to-require-gun-ownership/

[Fitz]

I'm all for the idea of CREATING a community that requires gun ownership (Citadel project, for example)

Not so hot on making gun ownership mandatory if people already live there who don't want to.

If given the CHOICE between forcing gun ownership or forcing no guns, I'd prefer the first, but neither is preferable.

Freedom is freedom. Just as no one has a right to tell me I can't have a firearm, I have no right to tell someone else they must.

[lee n. field]

Sure.  Get a license to allow you to not own a gun.

[MechAg94]

Sure.  Get a license to allow you to not own a gun.

yeah, then the newspapers can publish that list.   

[dogmush]

Sure.  Get a license to allow you to not own a gun.

Or have to pay a $2000/year tax to not buy something.  Would that be constitutional?

[SADShooter]

I am fervently in favor of encouraging and restoring gun ownership as part of encouraging and restoring the spirit of self-reliance. Communities should also have the prerogative to establish local standards by legal elective processes. But the bias should, as always, weigh toward individual freedom, including that not to own a firearm.

[kgbsquirrel]

I agree with the general intention of being pro-freedom, but I think mandating ownership is the wrong way to accomplish this goal. I'd much prefer local laws that specifically exempt residents from the unconstitutional infringements, such as the Montana Firearms Freedom Act.

[TommyGunn]

This was done thirty years ago in Kennesaw Georgia.  IIRC there were exceptions for religious and conscientious reasons.  
The crime rate in the town went down.
Interestingly, science fiction author and social commentator Isaac Asimov had written an article predicting the gun deaths in Kennesaw would go up.  Asimov might have been a great SF writer, but according to a friend of mine who knew him (and supported by some other evidence) he was a typical liberal anti gun person, and as evidenced by this prediction he was certainly ... fallable....