Kennesaw sticks to its guns: Law requires firearms

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | Feb 19, 2007 | DAVID A. MARKIEWICZ

[Cincinatus' Wife]

On a per capita basis, the city's serious crime rate has plunged since the law was passed. The actual number of the most serious crimes has barely increased, even as the city's population has exploded from about 5,000 in 1980 to more than 30,000 in 2005.

A visitor could drive the length of Kennesaw and think it a lot like other fast-growing metro Atlanta communities.

Except for the Confederate flags that fly atop Wildman's Civil War Surplus Shop downtown and the presence of a certain famous train, not much sticks out among the modern housing developments and retail plazas.

But in one way, Kennesaw is different: Its residents are required to pack heat.

Next month, Kennesaw marks the 25th anniversary of what a local historian called the ordinance "that rocked the world."

Every head of household, the 1982 law states, must own a firearm and appropriate ammunition. It was passed, at least in part, in response to the actions of Morton Grove, Ill., which had just adopted an anti-gun ordinance.

If only people in the north Cobb County city took the law seriously.

"They'll say, 'Oh, yeah, I've got a gun — a water pistol!' " resident Richard Bracken explains.

Some locals aren't even aware of the ordinance.

"I hadn't heard of it," said Mary Kopins, a seven-year resident.

"I am the head of the household — I mean, it's just me and my cat," Kopins said. "I hope that doesn't mean I have to go out and get a gun."

Legally, yes. But practically speaking, no.

"We don't have officers who go out and check your house to see if you have a gun," said police Lt. Craig Graydon, who has fielded calls about the ordinance from reporters in France, Australia and Japan. "The law gives you enough loopholes that you can get out of owning a gun."

Conscientious objectors to firearms, felons and persons with physical or mental disabilities are exempt. No one has ever been arrested for not having a gun, Graydon said, and there is no penalty for violating the ordinance.

He said there have been few accidental shootings in Kennesaw in his 20 years with the department, and none involving children.

Still, as Kennesaw continues to grow and cultivate a progressive, business-minded image, will there still be room for the "Wild West" image often associated with the ordinance?

Elected officials say they have no intention of getting rid of the gun law.

"We've come a long ways," said Mayor Leonard Church, himself a gun owner. "We have a lot more to offer than when that law was put on the books."

When the law was passed, Kennesaw was still a tiny outpost between U.S. 41 and I-75. It had come out of some hard economic times in the 1950s and was growing, boosted by the development of nearby Town Center Mall and, later, Kennesaw State University.

A local newspaper, recently writing about Kennesaw's efforts to update its image and attract more businesses and residents, referred to the city as "an educational, cultural and business hub."

Contrast that with a Penthouse magazine article from a couple decades back that showed five armed men standing in front of a Kennesaw city limits sign. The headline: "Gun Town."

Church, the mayor, points to the city's other assets.

He points to the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, home of the General, the Confederate locomotive stolen by Yankee spies in 1862 and the subject of the motion picture "The Great Locomotive Chase."

Church also mentions the Smith-Gilbert Arboretum and the potential of a downtown now made up of a few antique shops, cafes and Wildman's.

The latter is packed with authentic and replica Civil War memorabilia and is owned by local eccentric Dent Myers.

Long-haired and bearded, Myers wears a pair of .45s openly on his belt. A sign on the front of his shop advises, "Guns Allowed."

Church said neither the ordinance, nor some gun-totin' image, conflicts with the city's plans.

"We're not looking to change [the law]," he said. "It's not going anywhere. I think it helps deter crime."

Police agree. "We look at it as part of our crime prevention program," Graydon said.

Police cite Kennesaw's crime statistics, which show a community largely untouched by the worst offenses like murder, rape, robbery and assault.

On a per capita basis, the city's serious crime rate has plunged since the law was passed. The actual number of the most serious crimes has barely increased, even as the city's population has exploded from about 5,000 in 1980 to more than 30,000 in 2005.

"We can't say it works, but the population has [grown]," Graydon said, "and we've maintained a very low crime rate."

That sits well with residents, whether they own a gun or not.

Bob Kotcher, 76, moved with his wife to Kennesaw from Hawaii in 2003 partly because of the crime rate.

"I'm not a gun kind of person, but we feel very secure here. I would guess that if the bad guys know there are guns and ammunition in the house, they would rather go someplace else."

Kotcher read about Kennesaw on the Internet while seeking a mainland location where his wife could study nursing and he could be close to relatives. He didn't hear about the ordinance until a local real estate agent mentioned it.

Kennesaw resident Lance Hamilton, himself a real estate agent, said he doesn't mention the law unless home shoppers ask. "If I were to bring up that law, I'd have to bring up every law."

That doesn't mean he's not in favor of the ordinance, though.

"Personally, I think it's a good law," Hamilton said. "I think it makes Kennesaw unique."

[R. Scott]

Yep. Too bad liberals ignore history.

[R. Scott]

But few liberals know real history. Their version of “history” comes from the Hollywood version of our past.

[Melas]

Most of those old Wild West movies where some gang rides into town and terrorizes it's citizens are complete Hollywood fiction. 99% of the citizens in those towns had guns, could shoot very well, all the way down to the children. Bad guys riding into town would have faced a barrage of lead from all sides.

As a student of western history, no. The famous townspeople uprising at Northfield against the James Gang was the exception and not the rule. Or perhaps it was becoming the rule, since the scenerio was repeated in Coffeyville where the Dalton's met their end. In either event, in the West's heyday, outlaw gangs, and even non-outlaw gangs pretty much ran ripshod over small towns just as depicted in most of the older movies. The unromantic truth is that lawlessness sucks, even in the old West.

[archy]

...will there still be room for the "Wild West" image often associated with the ordinance?

Strange. In nearly every old “Wild West” movie and TV series the towns had “No Guns Allowed” ordinances.

Those were the towns in which the sheriffs and other officials either received payoffs from the proprietors of saloons and houses of gambling and/or prostitution, or were partial or sole owners of those establishments themselves. Mustn't have anything disrupt the old cash flow, y'know.

Sometimes, as with the Earps in Tombstone, competing criminal gangs were a threat worth trying to suppress; in others, as in Bannock, Montana, the crooked cops' concern came from local citizens who formed Vigilance Committees, one reason why such citizens' groups are despised by corrupt law enforcers yet today.

But is you happen to visit Montana today, on the sleeves of the Montana Highway Patrol, you'll still see the symbol of the vigilante group that cleaned up their town and hanged the thieving sheriff: 3-7-77....

[archy]

In either event, in the West's heyday, outlaw gangs, and even non-outlaw gangs pretty much ran ripshod over small towns just as depicted in most of the older movies.

Oh, not everywhere....

Anti Horse Thief Association; 1860s, organized at Fort Scott, Kansas

Atchison County Protective Association; 1880s, Atchison County, Kansas

Bald Knobbers; 1880s, Taney and Christian counties, Missouri

Biddulph Peace Society; 1876, Biddulph, Ontario, Canada

Bodie 601; 1881, Bodie, California

Citizens' Safety Committee; 1864, Aurora, Nevada Territory

Free State Vigilance Committee; 1850s, Lawrence, Kansas

Los Angeles Vigilance Committee; 1850, Los Angeles, California

Neutral City Vigilance Committee, 1880s, No Man's Land, Oklahoma

Committee of Vigilance; 1851 & 1856, San Francisco, California

3-7-77 Vigilance Committee; 1860s, Virginia City, Montana

"601" Vigilance Committee; 1880s, Virginia City, Nevada

"601" Vigilance Committee; 1880s, Eureka, Nevada

"601" Vigilance Committee; 1880s, Hiko, Nevada

Vigilance Committee; 1830s, Bytown (Ottawa), Ontario, Canada

Vigilance Committee; 1850s, Salt Creek, Leavenworth, Kansas

Vigilance Committee; 1860s, Cheyenne, Wyoming

Vigilance Committee; 1860s, Virginia City, Montana

[archy]

They really have some pretty strong competition in the Washington Compost and the Baltimore Scum, but, as I told one of my friends who subscribes to the rag for the coupons, Those people are your enemies and the enemies of everything you believe in, and supporting them will cost you far more in the long run than you will ever save in a few coupons for things that you probably won't buy anyway.

To a very large extent, you're talking about newspapers whose newsrooms are run by Newspaper Guild memberships.

[Kennesaw]

Great law Bump

[epow]

will there still be room for the "Wild West" image often associated with the ordinance?

I remember buying gas in Kennesaw 35 or more years ago at a station where the owner/attendant wore cowboy style clothes and a Colt .45 SAA on his belt while he pumped your gas, checked you oil, and cleaned your windshield. (yes Virginia, once upon a time you didn't have to pump your own gas)

When he later went to self service he still wore the gun, and I doubt that he had very many no-pay drive-offs.

[Gone_Postal]

so hows the housing market there
I bet no dems campaign there

[from occupied ga]

AFL/CIO = marxist = Atlanta Urinal Constipation = Pravda South

No coincidence here

[pabianice]

Shriek! The streets will flow with blood! Motorists will shoot one another over traffic lights! Children will be gunned-down in school! Aiieee.......................!

Oh, wait. Never mind...

[kachina]

I lived in Kennessaw for 3 years not long ago. Nice town, nice people. If memory serves me correctly, Since the gun ownership law was passed, only 2, REPEAT 2, homicides had been committed within the city and they were from men who did not live there but were from outside. Compare that to the homicides in Morton Grove, Ill !

I have a stock phrase I love to use with the anti-ownership crowd. "If you are so adament against gun ownership, would you be willing to put a sign up in your front yard stating that "This is a gun-free home" ?

[TC Rider]

The militia as it was meant to be!

[RJL]

It was passed, at least in part, in response to the actions of Morton Grove, Ill., which had just adopted an anti-gun ordinance (gun ban).

How could one write such an article and not compare the crime rates in Kennesaw and Morton Grove Ill.

[groanup]

I have seen Dent Myers on occasion. He really does walk into restaurants with two six guns at his side.

[Crawdad]

We moved here to Kennesaw in 1992. It has certainly grown.
When people ask me if I own a gun, I tell them to climb in my front window that night at 3:00am and they'll find out.

[philman_36]

Only a fool would
Rob someone in Kennesaw
'Cause they're all packing.

[Tinman]

"I'm not a gun kind of person, but we feel very secure here. I would guess that if the bad guys know there are guns and ammunition in the house, they would rather go someplace else."

I hope this gentleman has thanked his (gun owning) neighbors. This is what I've always refered to as the "umbrella effect", of gun ownership. It's one of the reasons that El Paso is one of the safest mid-sized cities in the nation, even though other demographics would lead you to think otherwise.

I've been involved in the "gun control debate" and Second Amendment issues for too long to expect that pesky facts and real world examples will ever sway the Brady Bunch and their ilk.

Oh well.

[kachina]

I presently live in Hendersonville, Tn. I own a gun, in fact, several. If you wish to break into a house, you just have to think about whether it's mine or not.