Posted on 12/04/2008 9:28:41 AM PST by MNJohnnie
I often brag to folks about living in Kennesaw, Georgia. “We have a big sign out here when you enter the city limits.” I tell them, “It says ‘Welcome to Kennesaw, We’re Packin’. Packin’ heat that is.” Buy an ad on DigitalJournal.com In 1981, Morton Grove, IL passed a law prohibiting citizens within the city limits to own firearms. In response, the city council of Kennesaw, GA unanimously passed a city ordinance in 1982 requiring heads of households to own at least one firearm with ammunition. The crime rate in Kennesaw at the time was already quite low, with only 11 burglaries per 1,000 residents in 1981; but nonetheless, the crime rate dropped even lower (by 89%) after the ordinance was passed.
In 1998, Decatur, GA, (another Atlanta suburb with a population of comparable size to that of Kennesaw) reported 4,049 property crimes per 100,000 residents, while Kennesaw had merely 243 property crimes per 100,000 (that is .243 per 1,000). In contrast, Morton Grove has a crime rate of about 10 times that of Kennesaw.
For the liberals with the American Civil Liberties Union on speed dial, slow down and don’t get your panties in a bunch. The ACLU has already taken the city of Kennesaw to federal court over the city ordinance, but Kennesaw won.
I can’t stand violence. You couldn’t drag me to a theater showing of “Friday the Thirteenth,” or “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” No thank you! Personal gun ownership isn’t about participating in violence, it is about stopping violence. It is about protecting yourself from those who are violent.
The Second Amendment in our Bill of Rights is actually all about the citizens protecting themselves against government. If you take away the ability of a citizenry to protect themselves from government, those citizens have no way to practice their ability to control their government. In other words, we have no way of protecting our Constitutional rights. In fact, it is also American citizens owning guns, that acts as a big deterrent to our enemies who would ponder the idea of invading our country.
I know this sweet, young college girl with great wisdom and a heart of gold, who was mortified when I told her about the ordinance. She also lives in Kennesaw. After patiently listening to all the “compassion” and logic she could muster about how wrong this was, and all the violence caused by guns, I just asked her a few questions.
“How about you put a sign in your front yard that reads, ‘This house has no alarm system, no guns, and no dogs’” I asked. She didn’t like that idea. “When was the last time you heard of a shooting range being robbed?” I asked. She hadn’t heard of such a thing.
I went on to explain to her that criminals do not think like she does. If a law stated that she could not have a gun, then she would follow the law, and not have a gun. This is not how criminals think. Those who would use a gun to harm others in an unlawful way are already committed to not following the law. I just love watching the light bulb go off in someone’s head.
So you liberal, metro-sexual guys with all that compassion and understanding can leave the safety of your families up to chance. Give me a pistol-packin' man like former Mayor Leonard Church of Kennesaw any day!
BOOKMARKED!
Excellent bedroom community to Marietta. Lockheed Martin has a major military aircraft manufacturing facility on Dobbins AFB.
I was at a local gun show recently and was speaking to a woman on my phone while inside. I was going on and on about the wild volume of sales and the record number of guns and ammo being sold. She asked “are the vendors not afraid of being robbed, with all that cash and all those guns?” I started laughing and said “aside from in the presence of the president of the USA, this is probably the most safe place in the world. Anyone who tried to rob someone here would be dead in miliseconds. EVERYONE is armed!” She just said “oh, yeah, I guess so. I didn’t think about it that way.”
My guess is that this ordinance was pro forma only. I’m willing to bet that just about all head of households were packing already.
Yep! Home to the F-22 and C-130 Herc!
They fly over my house all the time :)
“The difference is that Kennesaw is proactive about citizenship.”
Proactive? I’d call passing a law like that overactive. Owning a gun might be a good idea, but I certainly don’t want government telling me I have to.
No, Kennesaw is as pristine a place as you will ever find; and we intend to keep it that way. Rock on, pussy.
Something that’s puzzled me, is why the Kennesaw idea never seemed to spread beyond that one town.
That is, while they did it as a “statement”, the idea has very practical consequences that would be good for other towns and cities to adopt.
Why not turn it into a “movement”? There are probably lots of towns in America with close to 100% gun ownership, and of them a bunch have more than 50% of citizens as members of the NRA, so they *advocate* gun ownership, not just support it.
The anti-gun movement has adapted to the idea of Kennesaw, but only as long as it remains just *a* town. If other towns create the same or similar law, the anti-gun movement will panic—something they do easily.
And that’s important. For we no longer have the luxury of just “playing defense” with gun rights. As Napoleon pointed out, a “static defense” is just slow suicide.
So we have to push back, and demand more gun rights. Right now, Americans are buying a LOT of guns, and the anti-gun crowd is concentrating on “bullet control”. So it is a fine time to start pushing for more towns to follow Kennesaw’s lead.
mmmmmmmmm... gun “pron”!
:-)
LLS
I’m in Kennisaw today bttt.
I will have to visit. I loved Dalton GA and thought the mountains were gorgeous. Cant wait to get back there. Born here in Wisconsin but I’m a southern girl at heart.
Done!
Well, sort of.
One person has been shot since 1982: She was an out-of-town transient who had no weapon, assaulted in a "4-hour" motel near the expressway.
And one of our police officers shot a fellow Cobb County officer at the police range down Hwy 41 in Marietta. (Not really sure if that death counts against Cobb County where the officer lived, the City of Kennesaw where she worked, or or the City of Marietta where she shot the other officer.)
Of course, nationally, you are far more likely to get shot by your local police officer than by a resident of Kennesaw - and I guess this incident proves that statistic as well. Mayor Purdy was responsible. Church came in later, but did get most of the publicity. My lawyer wrote the bill - and I've never heard any complaints about it locally.
Wild Man? Well, he's a “character” - mean, biting, thoroughly racist, and doesn't believe in concealed carry. (He always carries his pistols in full view - one chained to each holster - on his belt.) The “Keep Out” sign in his yard is taken very seriously. Very seriously.
March 15, 1982
Section 8-10. In order to provide for the civil defense of the City of Kennesaw, and further in order to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the City and its inhabitants, pursuant to the Charter of the City of Kennesaw, the following ordinance is adopted, to wit:
(1) Every head of household residing in the City Limits of the City of Kennesaw is required to maintain a fire arm, together with ammunition therefor.
(2) Exempt from the effect of said ordinance are those heads of household who suffer a physical or mental disability which would prohibit them from using such a fire arm. Further exempt from the effect of said ordinance are those heads of household who are paupers or who conscientiously oppose maintaining fire arms as a result of belief or religious doctrine, or persons convicted of a felony.
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By the way, there are still plenty of jobs down here, and housing? Very low prices.
Read the law itself for who does, and who does not, have to own a weapon. See the entry just above this one.
And, by the way, the criminal don't know who does and who does not make what choice.
YAY Eevil conserv! I can tell you that also the fact that Kennasaw is in COBB county (or Count On Being Busted)which might also help deter crime (though I have seen them being quite.. overzelous). It’s a great place other wise, espically parks and mountain. I rememeber hiking (well sitting on my dad’s shoulders while he hiked) when I was little. It was so much fun!
We beat my mom and grandmother by a mile :D
My son went to the indoor pistol range in Los Angeles last week to practice target shooting. He said it was the first time he has ever had to wait in line. The guy in front of him owns a gun shop, and said business has quadrupled since November 4.
Hmmmmmm. I wonder what that’s all about? /s
1000 year old common law Posse comitatus: force of the county. The sheriff has the authority to require any able bodied citizen to assist in keeping the peace or pursuing felons.
Who wants to bet the New York Times will have absolutely NO interest in this story?
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