Gun Ownership Mandatory In Kennesaw, Georgia --- Crime Rate Plummets

tysk news ^ | 1997 | Baldwin

[doug from upland]

Gun Ownership Mandatory In Kennesaw, Georgia
Crime Rate Plummets

by Chuck Baldwin

The New American magazine reminds us that March 25th marked the 16th anniversary of Kennesaw, Georgia's ordinance requiring heads of households (with certain exceptions) to keep at least one firearm in their homes.

The city's population grew from around 5,000 in 1980 to 13,000 by 1996 (latest available estimate). Yet there have been only three murders: two with knives (1984 and 1987) and one with a firearm (1997). After the law went into effect in 1982, crime against persons plummeted 74 percent compared to 1981, and fell another 45 percent in 1983 compared to 1982.

And it has stayed impressively low. In addition to nearly non-existent homicide (murders have averaged a mere 0.19 per year), the annual number of armed robberies, residential burglaries, commercial burglaries, and rapes have averaged, respectively, 1.69, 31.63, 19.75, and 2.00 through 1998.

With all the attention that has been heaped upon the lawful possession of firearms lately, you would think that a city that requires gun ownership would be the center of a media feeding frenzy. It isn't. The fact is I can't remember a major media outlet even mentioning Kennesaw. Can you?

The reason is obvious. Kennesaw proves that the presence of firearms actually improves safety and security. This is not the message that the media want us to hear. They want us to believe that guns are evil and are the cause of violence.

The facts tell a different story. What is even more interesting about Kennesaw is that the city's crime rate decreased with the simple knowledge that the entire community was armed. The bad guys didn't force the residents to prove it. Just knowing that residents were armed prompted them to move on to easier targets. Most criminals don't have a death wish.

There have been two occasions in my own family when the presence of a handgun averted potential disaster. In both instances the gun was never aimed at a person and no shot was fired.

[doug from upland]

Number of Crimes and Crime Index of the Year 2004 for Kennesaw, Georgia
This table is based on crime that took place in Kennesaw Georgia and is based upon a population of 26,246 served by the Kennesaw Police Department
About the Crime Data*

Crime	2004 Number	2004 Rate Per 100,000
Murder	1	3.8
Manslaughter	-	-
Rape Total	2	7.6
Rape by Force	2	7.6
Attempted Rape	-	-
Robbery Total	9	34.3
Robbery with a Gun	4	15.2
Robbery with a Knife	4	15.2
Robbery other Weapon	-	-
Strong Arm Robbery	1	3.8
Assault Total	172	655.3
Assault with a Gun	2	7.6
Assault with a Knife	4	15.2
Assault with other Weapon	5	19.1
Assault with Hands, Feet, ect.	1	3.8
Simple Assault	160	609.6
Total Violent Crime	184	701.1
Burglary Total	86	327.7
Burglary - Forcible Entry	42	160.0
Burglary - No Forcible Entry	35	133.4
Attempted Burglary	9	34.3
Larceny Total	422	1,607.9
Motor Vehicle Theft Total	45	171.5
Auto Theft	15	57.2
Truck, Bus Theft	3	11.4
Other Vehicle Theft	27	102.9
Total Property Crimes	553	2,107.0
Total of All Crimes	737	2,808.0

Year  2004 Georgia Number of Reported Crimes

						Forcible		Aggravated		Larceny-	Vehicle
Year	Population	Index	Violent	Property	Murder	Rape	Robbery	assault	Burglary	Theft	Theft
2004	8,918,129	416,873	40,217	376,656	613	2,387	13,656	23,561	82,992	249,426	44,238

Year  2004 Georgia Crime Index Rates Per 100,000 Inhabitants

						Forcible		Aggravated		Larceny-	Vehicle
Year	Population	Index	Violent	Property	Murder	Rape	Robbery	assault	Burglary	Theft	Theft
2004	8,918,129	4,674.5	451.0	4,223.5	6.9	26.8	153.1	264.2	930.6	2,796.8	496.0

Year  2004 United States Number of Reported Crimes

						Forcible		Aggravated		Larceny-	Vehicle
Year	Population	Index	Violent	Property	Murder	Rape	Robbery	Assault	Burglary	Theft	Theft
2004	293,656,842	11,679,474	1,360,088	10,319,386	16,148	95,089	401,470	847,381	2,144,446	6,937,089	1,237,851

Year 2004 United States Crime Index Rates Per 100,000 Inhabitants

						Forcible		Aggravated		Larceny-	Vehicle
Year	Population	Index	Violent	Property	Murder	Rape	Robbery	assault	Burglary	Theft	Theft
2004	293,656,842	3,977.3	463.2	3,514.1	5.5	32.4	136.7	288.6	730.3	2,362.3	421.5

Georgia's 2005 Cities crimes and Rates as reported in the FBI's September 2006 release of the "UCR for Metropolitan Statistical Areas" (MSA)  -- Statistics not available for all MSA'a
Albany -- Athens Clarke County -- Atlanta Sandy Springs Marietta -- Augusta Richmond County -- Brunswick -- Chattanooga -- Columbus -- Gainesville -- Hinesville Fort Stewart -- Macon -- Rome -- Savannah -- Valdosta -- Warner Robins   

US States Crime 2004 -2005 Crimes per 100,000 and Ranking

United States Crime Statistics
* United States * Alaska * Alabama * Arkansas * Arizona * California * Colorado * Connecticut * Delaware * Florida * Georgia * Hawaii * Iowa * Idaho * Illinois * Indiana * Kansas * Kentucky * Louisiana * Massachusetts * Maryland * Maine * Michigan * Minnesota * Missouri * Mississippi * Montana * North Carolina * North Dakota * Nebraska * New Hampshire * New Jersey * New Mexico * Nevada * New York * Ohio * Oklahoma * Oregon * Pennsylvania * Rhode Island * South Carolina * South Dakota * Tennessee * Texas * Utah * Virginia * Vermont * Washington D. C. * Washington * Wisconsin * West Virginia * Wyoming *

Web	www.disastercenter.com

About the Crime Data: The crime index process divides an area population into the number of reported crimes within that area to yield a ratio of crimes per 100,000 people. The use of indexing enables us to compare the crime rate between different kinds of areas and communities.  In recording the number of crimes to create the crime index, crimes and population are only counted once; because of this, the reported crimes and population of a county may be less than that of a city within that county.  Petty larceny below $50 and arson are not included in these statistics. 

While indexing is useful in determining relative risk, it does not represent the actual risk, because the number of crimes is only compared to the estimated number of permanent residents of the jurisdiction where the crime occurred. For example, while the crime rate in the nation's Capital is very high, the actual number of people in the Capital at any time is likely to be three times the number of residents.  This situation carries over to crime rates in jurisdictions that primarily operate as industrial and resort areas. 

When we can, we provide a more complete breakdown of types of crime than is normally available.  (Not every jurisdiction submits crime data in the format that the FBI requests.) In Normal Text are the standard categories of crime. In Italicized Text are subcategories of the standard categories. In Bold Text are sums of Violent, Property and Total Crime.  Except in States with a low population, we are not providing statistics for jurisdictions with a population of less than 10,000 people.  Crimes associated with jurisdictions that do not have a permanent population, such as colleges and judicial departments are not included in the statistics.

For crimes associated with students in the United States start with School-associated violent deaths and number of homicides and suicides of youth ages 5–19, by location: 1992–2002.    

The statistical data displayed here is based upon information submitted by local and State law enforcement agencies to the  Federal Bureau of Investigation and of population estimates for those jurisdictions.

Georgia Cities and County Crimes and Index for the Year 2004 for Jurisdictions with a population over 10,000

Acworth PD -- Albany PD -- Alpharetta PD -- Americus PD -- Athens-Clarke County  -- Atlanta PD -- Augusta-Richmond County -- Bainbridge PD -- Baldwin County -- Banks County -- Barrow County -- Bartow County -- Bibb County -- Brantley County -- Brooks County -- Brunswick PD -- Bryan County -- Bulloch County -- Burke County -- Butts County -- Calhoun PD -- Camden County -- Canton PD -- Carroll County -- Carrollton PD -- Cartersville PD -- Catoosa County -- Chatham County  -- Chattahoochee County -- Clayton County  -- Cobb County  -- Coffee County -- College Park PD -- Colquitt County -- Columbia County -- Columbus PD -- Conyers PD -- Cordele PD -- Covington PD -- Coweta County -- Crawford County -- Crisp County -- Dade County -- Dalton PD -- Dawson County -- Decatur County -- Decatur PD -- Dekalb County  -- Dodge County -- Doraville PD -- Dougherty County  -- Douglas County -- Douglas PD -- Douglasville PD -- Dublin PD -- Duluth PD -- East Point PD -- Effingham County -- Elbert County -- Emanuel County -- Fayette County -- Fayetteville PD -- Floyd County -- Forest Park PD -- Forsyth County -- Franklin County -- Fulton County  -- Gainesville PD -- Garden City PD -- Gilmer County -- Glynn County -- Gordon County -- Grady County -- Greene County -- Griffin PD -- Gwinnett County  -- Habersham County -- Hall County -- Haralson County -- Harris County -- Hart County -- Heard County -- Henry County PD -- Hinesville PD -- Houston County -- Jackson County -- Jasper County -- Jones County -- Kennesaw PD -- Kingsland PD -- Lagrange PD -- Lamar County -- Laurens County -- Lawrenceville PD -- Lee County -- Liberty County -- Lowndes County -- Lumpkin County -- Macon PD -- Madison County -- Marietta PD -- McDonough PD -- McDuffie County -- Meriwether County -- Milledgeville PD -- Mitchell County -- Monroe County -- Monroe PD -- Moultrie PD -- Murray County -- Newnan PD -- Newton County -- Oconee County -- Oglethorpe County -- Paulding County -- Peach County -- Peachtree City PD -- Perry PD -- Pickens County -- Pike County -- Polk County PD -- Putnam County -- Rabun County -- Riverdale PD -- Rockdale County -- Rome PD -- Roswell PD -- Savannah PD -- Screven County -- Smyrna PD -- Snellville PD -- Spalding County -- St. Marys PD -- Statesboro PD -- Stephens County -- Suwanee PD -- Tattnall County -- Thomas County -- Thomasville PD -- Tift County -- Tifton PD -- Toombs County -- Troup County -- Union City PD -- Union County -- Upson County -- Valdosta PD -- Vidalia PD -- Walker County -- Walton County -- Ware County -- Warner Robins PD -- Washington County -- Waycross PD -- Wayne County -- White County -- Whitfield County -- Winder PD -- Woodstock PD -- Worth County
Copyright November 2006 -- The Disaster Center

[Borges]

While gun ownership is a right how is it legal for a goverment to require ownership. Isn't that like requiring speech or religion (both rights as well)?

[doug from upland]

I believe there are ways you can opt out.

[Red6]

Who cares about facts figures and common sense? All you need to do is run around screaming “think of our children!”

[chaos_5]

The sourcing on this article sucks! The web page links back to FR and that article sites an email. I hate to say it but it just doesn’t make for a credible story like that. So what is the deal? Is this true or not?

[doug from upland]

www.gunowners.org
Mar 2002
Bag The Colors And Pass The Ammunition
by
Erich Pratt
Every day is code green in Kennesaw, Georgia.

The town which made headlines 20 years ago this month has enjoyed low crime rates and offers many tips on fighting crime.

Perhaps it could teach the nation a thing or two about fighting terrorism as well.

Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge recently announced a color code to measure terrorist threats in this country. The code begins with the color green — indicating a low security risk — and from there escalates to blue, yellow, orange and red.

Director Ridge said that it may be several years before we sink below a level yellow alert — the color yellow meaning the level of risk is “elevated.”

Well, that may be true in most places. But not in Kennesaw, where residents are celebrating two decades of crime-free living.

Every day is code green in Kennesaw, Georgia.

It was twenty years ago this month that city officials embarked upon a bold experiment. They enacted a law requiring every household to own a firearm, exempting those with criminal records or religious objections.

The results of this experiment have been phenomenal, showing that armed citizens deter crime.

An early study (in 1982) found that the residential burglary rated in Kennesaw had fallen 89 percent in the seven months following the law’s enactment. That drop far outpaced the more modest 10.4 percent drop in the entire state of Georgia during that same period.

In the ensuing years, the crime rate has remained at basement levels. According to the Kennesaw Police Department, there was less than one property crime for every 1,000 people in 1998. That’s down from 11 such crimes per 1,000 residents in 1981 — the year before the gun law was enacted.

Now, let’s be honest. Kennesaw may not be the number one town on Osama bin Laden’s hit list. But it is fair to ask the question: if you were an al-Qaeda terrorist, where would you rather ply your trade?

Would you rather “work” in a city where your victims are legally disarmed, and they can’t shoot back? Or would you rather operate in a town like Kennesaw where guns are about as plentiful as water?

It is interesting to note that in Israel — a place where terrorism is a constant threat — armed citizens have been a perennial thorn in the side of Palestinian gunmen and suicide bombers.

Earlier this month, a shoe salesman was eating dinner with his wife in a Jerusalem nightclub, when a terrorist opened fire with an automatic firearm.

William Hazan grabbed a pistol out of his wife’s purse and shot the Palestinian, thus ending the terror. The gunman had explosives strapped to his body, but was effectively prevented from detonating the devices.

This heroic action came on the heels of another episode in late February when an alert citizen shot dead a terrorist who tried to set off an explosive device in an Efrat supermarket. The alert customer, who was a woman, was praised for saving the lives of many people.

Not to ignore a good thing, Israeli authorities are now trying to get even more citizens carrying guns. They recently announced that they will extend permits up to 60,000 additional citizens. And in some cases, authorities will even give away the guns for free.

*******************************Now, the Kennesaw ordinance does not force residents to carry firearms, but many of them do anyway. Wouldn’t it be great if Kennesaw officials expanded their experiment and encouraged citizens to carry the firearms which they are already required to own? ****************************

Hey, the idea of arming private citizens is saving lives in Israel. Why shouldn’t it work here in this country?

Ridge’s color code may help alert people to potential dangers, but it does nothing to help Americans protect themselves. Further, it does nothing to deter terrorists.

So bag the colors and pass the ammunition. Kennesaw has proven that guns in private hands increase the protection of average citizens.

And that’s why on this 20-year anniversary, we should remember: every day is code green in Kennesaw, Georgia.

---

Erich Pratt is the Director of Communications for Gun Owners of America.

[dashing doofus]

A copy of part of the town ordinance:

“ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL

Sec. 34-1. Heads of households to maintain firearms.
(a) In order to provide for the emergency management of the city, and further in order to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants, every head of household residing in the city limits is required to maintain a firearm, together with ammunition therefor.
(b) Exempt from the effect of this section are those heads of households who suffer a physical or mental disability which would prohibit them from using such a firearm. Further exempt from the effect of this section are those heads of households who are paupers or who conscientiously oppose maintaining firearms as a result of beliefs or religious doctrine, or persons convicted of a felony.
(Code 1986, § 4-3-10)

Sec. 34-2. Use of firearms.
No person shall fire a gun, pistol or other firearm in the city, except in the defense of person or property, and except peace officers or military forces of this state or the United States, in the discharge of official duties.”

[doug from upland]

Yes, this all sucks. Bad sourcing indeed. Imagine, someone got an email from a sourced story. If you Google “kennesaw georgia guns,” there are only 139,000 articles about this. If I were you, I wouldn’t believe it for a minute.

[Springman]

Sounds like a good city to live in.

[msnimje]

So what is the deal? Is this true or not?

I am looking out the window at Kennesaw Mountain now and I can assure you it is not only true it is also very well documented.

[Labyrinthos]

The area where I live in NY is lower than the crime rate in Kennesaw, GA and we’re not required to keep a firearm.

[dashing doofus]

My post #9 is directly from the town ordinances, easily found via a quick web search.

[calex59]

Yes, this story is true, there is another town that has done the same thing after hearing about Kennesaw but I can’t remember which one it was.

[bikerMD]

March 25th marked the 16th anniversary of Kennesaw, Georgia's ordinance requiring heads of households (with certain exceptions) to keep at least one firearm in their homes.

"Ain't nuthin but a bunch of Cracker, Red Neck, gunototin' hicks in Kennesaw. I'll be fixin' that sitchiashun in January '09. And yall know what ahm talkin about."

[doug from upland]

You are fortunate indeed. My guess is that MS13 or the Crips/Bloods have not set up shop there. That is not a racial comment; it is a gang comment.

[Labyrinthos]

The gangs are here, which explains the little bit of violent crime that we do have.

[Labyrinthos]

Also, while we are not required by law to own a firearm, many of us do. (I share an office with Mr. Remington and his twin brother shares my den at home.)

[JoeGar]

the city's crime rate decreased with the simple knowledge that the entire community was armed.

Our sheriff would agree -- he thinks everyone should have a concealed carry permit.