| Apr 21, 2007 @ 2:17 AM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership
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ExacerbatedTaboo
Posts: 1,401
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This is kind of a long article and the only reason I'm posting the entire thing is for the people here that don't get AOL news or can't get it for some reason. Anyway, please read and enjoy...Thanks..
U.S. Town Requires Residents to Own Guns
By Matthew Bigg
Reuters
KENNESAW, Georgia (April 18) - The Virginia Tech killings have set off calls for tighter U.S. gun laws but anyone wanting to know why those demands likely will make little headway should visit Kennesaw, a town where owning a gun is both popular and mandatory.
The town north of Atlanta had little prominence until it passed a gun ordinance in 1982 that required all heads of a household to own a firearm and ammunition.
Kennesaw's law was a response to Morton Grove, Illinois, which had passed a gun ban earlier that year as a step to reduce crime.
But it also was an affirmation of what gun advocates say is a blanket U.S. constitutional right, under the Second Amendment, for citizens to keep and bear arms. Gun opponents challenge that right and say the language in the Constitution is open to interpretation.
The Kennesaw law has endured as the town's population has swelled to about 30,000 from 5,000 in 1982.
"When the law was passed in 1982 there was a substantial drop in crime ... and we have maintained a really low crime rate since then," said police Lt. Craig Graydon. "We are sure it is one of the lowest (crime) towns in the metro area.
Residents say they are comfortable with the image the gun law projects on the city as a bastion of gun freedom.
"There's been no move to get rid of the law . Why would you?" said Robert Jones, president of the Kennesaw Historical Society. "The law is a great tourist attraction. It's the town with the Gun Law .
"People in Europe feel they need to be protected by the government. People in the U.S. feel they need to be protected from the government," said Jones, the owner of a .357-caliber Magnum.
FAMILY TRADITION
Many U.S. citizens see gun ownership as an essential freedom on a par with free speech and the view is particularly strong in rural areas and the South where sport hunting is often a family tradition.
In a bid to expand gun rights, a bill was introduced in Georgia's state legislature to allow individuals with no criminal record or history of mental illness to conceal a weapon in their car.
The state Senate adjourned debate on the bill on Tuesday, fearing it would send the wrong message in the wake of the Virginia rampage.
Dent "Wildman" Myers, 76, styles himself as a keeper of the flame when it comes to Kennesaw's gun ordinance. His downtown shop contains a cornucopia of artifacts, including old uniforms and dozens of flags of the Confederacy that fought the Union in part in defense of slavery in the Civil War. At the back is a Ku Klux Klan outfit with a noose and a hood.
There also are posters praising defenders of the white race, White Power CDs and a sign that reads: "No Dogs Allowed, No Negroes, No Mexicans." Someone had crossed out the first part of the sign and added "Dogs Allowed."
Myers said he wanted to protect the values that made the town and the South distinct from other parts of the United States.
GUNS AS TOOLS
"They destroyed anything historic and replaced it with the PC (politically correct) stuff. It's become a cookie cutter town," Myers said, his hands resting lightly on two .45-caliber guns at his hips. He said he considered his guns to be tools, much like a rake or a shovel.
Since the Virginia Tech shootings, some conservative U.S. talk radio hosts have rejected attempts to link the massacre to the availability of guns, arguing that had students been allowed to carry weapons on campus someone might have been able to shoot the killer.
Without guns the students of Virginia Tech were "26,000 sitting ducks," said Chris Krok of Atlanta 's WSB radio in a view echoed by many residents of Kennesaw.
When the town's gun law was passed, about 70 percent of households likely owned a gun , Graydon said. But Atlanta commuters have since swelled the town's population and gun ownership now is about 50 percent.
An amendment to the gun ownership law grants exceptions to convicted felons, conscientious objectors and those who cannot afford a gun . No one has ever been prosecuted for failure to own a firearm, Graydon said.
The law may deter criminals but proactive policing and close police liaison with community and business groups were the main reasons why crime has stayed low, he said.
Some residents said they found the law objectionable or silly and simply ignored it.
But Linda Warman, who works in a Kennesaw shop, said she lived alone and was taking no chances.
"I wouldn't hesitate to use it," she said of the gun she keeps loaded with hollow-point bullets. "My little .22. It'll do whatever I want it to."
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| Apr 21, 2007 @ 2:43 AM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership |
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Always_Striving
Posts: 7,355
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Morton Grove, Illinois............ A perfect defenseless town ready to be invaded and taken advantage of by fearless crimminals.
They're sitting ducks.
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| Apr 21, 2007 @ 2:48 AM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership
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Gentlegiant127
Posts: 1,037
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E.T.,
The mandatory gun ownership reminds me of an article I read about Switzerland where gun ownership is very high(over 99% of all households have one or more guns)but crime rate is low. Interesting article too.
http://www.guncite.com/swissgun-kopel.html
BTW, what's your personal opinion of the article that you posted? You said in the title of this thread that its a good story, but you don't say why you think it is. Just curious.
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| Apr 21, 2007 @ 2:53 AM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership |
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ExacerbatedTaboo
Posts: 1,401
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Well why I think it's a good story is that it shows people that gun ownership does work and it works well. Nobody is going to invade your home or steal from you if you have a gun. Sure it's sad when someone dies in a violent manner and in multitudes but we always seem to look at what killed them and not who and why. It's sad. This sheds a very possitive light on gun ownership and that is something you just don't see.
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| Apr 21, 2007 @ 7:05 AM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership
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eastham
Posts: 5,765
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Every Swiss male between the ages of 20-42 is a member of the army, active or reserved. This is why they have guns in Swiss households.
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| Apr 21, 2007 @ 9:26 AM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership |
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steveemac
Posts: 2,336
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Dent "Wildman" Myers, 76, styles himself as a keeper of the flame when it comes to Kennesaw's gun ordinance. His downtown shop contains a cornucopia of artifacts, including old uniforms and dozens of flags of the Confederacy that fought the Union in part in defense of slavery in the Civil War. At the back is a Ku Klux Klan outfit with a noose and a hood.
There also are posters praising defenders of the white race, White Power CDs and a sign that reads: "No Dogs Allowed, No Negroes, No Mexicans." Someone had crossed out the first part of the sign and added "Dogs Allowed."
Myers said he wanted to protect the values that made the town and the South distinct from other parts of the United States.
Perhaps people like this represent the REAL reason behind Kenesaw's gun requirements-"crime" is a code word for "icky Blacks and Latinos."
And if guys like this are what makes the South "distinct," I'm glad I'm a Midwesterner.
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| Apr 21, 2007 @ 11:29 AM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership
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vicryder
Posts: 830
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I over heard an actual conversation in KC, MO regarding an urban black man going to a bar in a rural area.
"I ain't afraid of them country f***s, I'll just put a cap in their country ass."
"Shit, you'll go in there spraying nines and one them country f***s will kill you 'cause they all know how to shoot and they hit what they aim at."
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| Apr 21, 2007 @ 12:14 PM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership |
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ToucherinSparks
Posts: 6,618
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Here's another GOOD story from today's news.....
WAYNESBURG, Ky. - Miss America 1944 has a talent that likely has never appeared on a beauty pageant stage: She fired a handgun to shoot out a vehicle's tires and stop an intruder.
Venus Ramey, 82, confronted a man on her farm in south-central Kentucky last week after she saw her dog run into a storage building where thieves had previously made off with old farm equipment.
Ramey said the man told her he would leave. "I said, 'Oh, no you won't,' and I shot their tires so they couldn't leave," Ramey said.
She had to balance on her walker as she pulled out a snub-nosed .38-caliber handgun.
"I didn't even think twice. I just went and did it," she said. "If they'd even dared come close to me, they'd be 6 feet under by now."
Ramey then flagged down a passing motorist, who called 911.
Curtis Parrish of Ohio was charged with misdemeanor trespassing, Deputy Dan Gilliam said. The man's hometown wasn't immediately available. Three other people were questioned but were not arrested.
After winning the pageant with her singing, dancing and comedic talents, Ramey sold war bonds and her picture was adorned on a B-17 that made missions over Germany in World War II, according to the Miss America Web site.
Ramey lived in Cincinnati for several years and was instrumental in helping rejuvenate Over-the-Rhine historic buildings. She returned to Kentucky in 1990 to live on her farm.
"I'm trying to live a quiet, peaceful life and stay out of trouble, and all it is, is one thing after another," she said.
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| Apr 21, 2007 @ 1:31 PM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership
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Martin666
Posts: 2,142
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Kennesaw-- rather than have their asses sued off in court, the city amended the law in 1983 to exempt those who conscientiously object to owning a firearm, convicted felons, those who cannot afford a firearm, and those with a mental or physical disability that would prevent them from owning a firearm. It mentions no penalty for its violation. According to the Kennesaw Historical Society, no one has ever been charged under the law and no effort has ever been made to verify whether people were in compliance or not.
In other words, the kennesaw law says that anyone who wants a gun and can legally own one and afford one should have one.
How's that law any different from the one in your state?
It was all fluff and circumstance...a political show.
[Edited on 4/21/2007 1:41 PM]
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| Apr 21, 2007 @ 7:56 PM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership |
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sealacamp
Posts: 2,795
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No it is not Martin because like the Swiss, Kennesaw has had one of the lowest crime rates in the nation since the inception of that law regardless of weather or not everyone owned a gun. For the criminal it is a very pertinent issue since they moved further north or south. My thought would be that they really don't want to get shot. Rather, like carrion animals, they seek out the weak and wounded. Have you not heard that Great Britian has relented on a portion of their anti-gun rethoric and have now issued guns to the police again? I wonder why they felft that they needed to do that? If you are informed, as you claim, then you will know why.
S
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| Apr 21, 2007 @ 9:04 PM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership
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CowboyX
Posts: 102
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Well why I think it's a good story is that it shows people that gun ownership does work and it works well. Nobody is going to invade your home or steal from you if you have a gun.
You have yet to be familiarized with concept called a post hoc fallacy, which you have just made. In a nutshell, if event A precedes even B, this does not in and of itself constitute any evidence that event A caused event B, or that there was any logical connection between the two.
Try reading the article that you posted...
The law may deter criminals but proactive policing and close police liaison with community and business groups were the main reasons why crime has stayed low, he said.
In order to show that gun ownership protects people, your premises must support your conclusion. In this case, your conclusion is based on a fallacy, and therefore has no value.
In the real world, guns cause much more violence than they prevent.
Consider the following example:
I am a crack fiend looking for my next fix. To get drug money, I break into your house to steal some valuables. Do you really think that you are going to be able to ...
1. Notice the burglar,
2. Get your gun (presumably in another part of the house),
3. Stop the burglar?
Sure, it might happen, but statistics show that it is very rare. Face it, owning a gun does not make you safe. I could quite easily sneak into your house while you are asleep and kill you if I were really determined to do it. It would be very easy. Quietly break in (lock picking is not that difficult), walk into your bedroom, and shoot you. In this case, your gun would not help you, since you would already be dead.
This is a classic example of a message saying much more about the person who typed it than it does about the subject that the message attempts to address.
If you want to make a sound argument, try citing some statistics and their source(s).
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| Apr 21, 2007 @ 9:18 PM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership |
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sealacamp
Posts: 2,795
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Having lived in Georgia all my life and near Kennesaw for 25 years I can tell you that they don't have enough cops to do what they claim. Or perhaps you are not familar with the police doing public relations well beyond their actual performance. Got to look good to the public you know? You are looking at the superficial evidence presented in the media. Come on down and stay here a while so you can see for yourself first hand instead of by consuming the baloney that government agencies throw at people in order to draw attention away from all that is really going on.
S
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| Apr 21, 2007 @ 10:29 PM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership
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CowboyX
Posts: 102
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You are looking at the superficial evidence presented in the media.
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| Apr 22, 2007 @ 1:17 AM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership |
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steveemac
Posts: 2,336
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I could quite easily sneak into your house while you are asleep and kill you if I were really determined to do it. It would be very easy. Quietly break in (lock picking is not that difficult), walk into your bedroom, and shoot you. In this case, your gun would not help you, since you would already be dead.
Cowboy, it is EXTREMELY RUDE to muck up a good conspiracy by introducing common sense. Please apologize. 
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| Apr 22, 2007 @ 3:54 AM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership
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ExacerbatedTaboo
Posts: 1,401
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Well first off I can tell the original poster of that comment has never broke into a house. You don't do that quietly. Glass doesn't break quietly, doors don't get kicked in quietly. Not to mention you are far less likely to break into someones house if you know they own a gun and by the way, how are you going to determine if the person is asleep or just up watching television? I would also like to address the conspiracy claim. Where is the conspiracy? I posted an article from aol that I found interesting that I said sheds a possitive light on gun ownership and in an effort to grab the attention of the female that may be reading these posts you start in insulting and ridiculing. Playing the clown and the goof. It's perfectly fine if you want to debate the article intelligently and maturely but don't result to childish name calling and insulting just to try and get your peter wet inside some girls vag that you will probably never meet.
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| Apr 22, 2007 @ 3:57 AM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership |
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ExacerbatedTaboo
Posts: 1,401
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You are looking at the superficial evidence presented in the media.
And if everyone else wasn't looking at the very same thing yall wouldn't have started a 12 page topic about gun laws needing to be tightened as a result to what happened in Virginia.. 32 people get killed and now everybody is trying to demonize the firearm.
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| Apr 22, 2007 @ 4:19 AM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership
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CowboyX
Posts: 102
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Well first off I can tell the original poster of that comment has never broke[n] into a house.
I would not recommend claiming to know things that you have no way of knowing. In any case, I am making an analogy in order to expose flawed logic.
You don't do that quietly. Glass doesn't break quietly, doors don't get kicked in quietly.
Locks can be picked, or didn't you know that?
Not to mention you are far less likely to break into someones house if you know they own a gun
This is a moot point, since the perp would not know whether the resident had a gun.
and by the way, how are you going to determine if the person is asleep or just up watching television?
Look for what appears like a flashing light coming through their window. Watch them for a while and learn their routine. Wait until their bedroom light goes out. This is all common sense.
It's perfectly fine if you want to debate the article intelligently and maturely but don't result to childish name calling and insulting just to try and get your peter wet inside some girls vag that you will probably never meet.
What a fine example of intelligent political discourse. 
[Edited on 4/22/2007 4:25 AM]
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| Apr 22, 2007 @ 4:23 AM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership |
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CowboyX
Posts: 102
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And if everyone else wasn't looking at the very same thing yall wouldn't have started a 12 page topic about gun laws needing to be tightened as a result to what happened in Virginia.. 32 people get killed and now everybody is trying to demonize the firearm.
Only a fool deals in absolutes.
Yes, the firearm is the devil! Damn it to hell! 
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| Apr 22, 2007 @ 11:11 AM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership
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juzhey
Posts: 379
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Et - in an effort to grab the attention of the female that may be reading these posts you start in insulting and ridiculing.
Is that what that was? I just thought it was laughable because the intruder who TRIED to break into my house got to meet my gun, and wasn’t too happy about it LOL Seemed to have worked in my favor, not his.
“Locks can be picked, or didn't you know that?” I don’t even know anyone who doesn’t have a dead bolt or chain. Any ideas on how you are going to get past the chain so quietly? Just showing how FLAWED your “logic” is.
“Not to mention you are far less likely to break into someones house if you know they own a gun This is a moot point, since the perp would not know whether the resident had a gun.”
In a town with laws like that one, it would be a pretty safe bet, and stupid to not assume there was one.
“Look for what appears like a flashing light coming through their window. Watch them for a while and learn their routine. Wait until their bedroom light goes out. This is all common sense.” RFLMAO Just having a man living across the street was enough for me to use my common sense and get those insulated curtains or shades that block those lights etc. Are you going to say now that no one else has ever heard of them?
Cowboy -Only a fool deals in absolutes. Was the only part I could agree with.
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| Apr 22, 2007 @ 11:18 AM |
A Good Story About Gun Ownership |
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eastham
Posts: 5,765
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Playing the clown and the goof. It's perfectly fine if you want to debate the article intelligently and maturely but don't result to childish name calling and insulting just to try and get your peter wet inside some girls vag that you will probably never meet.
And what profound political insight is this gem?
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