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.”
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!
