Maine Town to Vote on Mandatory Gun Ownership

Largely symbolic action and legally unenforceable

Residents of a Maine town are expected to vote Monday on whether each household should be required to own a firearm, a decision that has thrust the tiny town of Byron into the heated national debate on gun control.

The vote is scheduled to take place on Monday evening in a potentially rancorous annual town meeting for the western Maine town's 140 residents and will be largely symbolic.

The town's head selectman says the vast majority of households in Byron already have at least one gun, and a requirement to possess guns and ammunition would be unenforceable because Maine law bars municipalities from legislating on firearms.