Every head of household in Kennesaw, Georgia, is legally required to own a gun and ammunition. The 1982 ordinance, still technically in effect, was a symbolic response to Morton Grove, Illinois, which had just banned handguns. Kennesaw's city council wanted to make a statement: if one town could require no guns, another could require guns. The ordinance was never intended for enforcement - it exempts conscientious objectors, the mentally ill, felons, the poor, and anyone who simply doesn't want to comply. Nobody has ever been prosecuted. But the law remains, a forty-year-old political gesture that became part of Kennesaw's identity, cited in every gun debate as evidence for... whatever the arguer wants to prove.
Morton Grove, Illinois, passed America's first municipal handgun ban in 1981. The law required residents to turn in handguns; only police, military, and security personnel could possess them. Gun rights advocates were outraged. Kennesaw's city council, led by councilman J.O. Purvis, decided to respond with mirror-image legislation: mandatory gun ownership. The council understood the law was symbolic - they included exemptions so broad that no one could be forced to comply. The point was the gesture, the statement, the news coverage. Kennesaw became famous overnight. The law passed unanimously.
The Family Protection Ordinance requires every head of household to 'maintain a firearm, together with ammunition.' Exemptions cover anyone who doesn't want to: conscientious objectors, felons, the physically or mentally disabled, and anyone who can't afford a gun. No verification mechanism exists. No inspections are conducted. No penalties are enforced. The law is effectively an opinion, codified. It expresses Kennesaw's values without requiring anyone to share them. The ordinance was never challenged in court - probably because no one has standing, since no one has been harmed by an unenforced law.
Gun rights advocates claim Kennesaw's crime rate dropped dramatically after the ordinance passed. The statistics are disputed. Kennesaw was a small town in 1982 (roughly 5,000 people) with minimal crime to begin with. The population has grown tenfold since; crime rates reflect regional trends more than local policy. Researchers who've examined the claims find no evidence that mandatory gun ownership reduced crime - Kennesaw's rates track comparable suburban communities regardless of gun laws. The ordinance makes a political statement; it doesn't measurably change behavior or outcomes.
Kennesaw has embraced its gun-town reputation. The city promotes itself as a safe community where citizens are armed and prepared. Local businesses sell gun-related merchandise. The ordinance appears in tourism materials. The annual 'Big Shanty Festival' celebrates the city's history (including Civil War heritage) with events that reflect the community's character. Whether residents actually own more guns than comparable suburbs is unknown - no one has surveyed compliance. The law works as identity rather than mandate, defining Kennesaw as a place where certain values are formally endorsed.
Kennesaw is located in Cobb County, Georgia, roughly 25 miles northwest of Atlanta via Interstate 75. The city offers standard suburban amenities and attractions including Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, site of a significant Civil War engagement. The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History displays the 'General,' the famous locomotive from the Great Locomotive Chase. The mandatory gun ordinance is not commemorated with any specific monument or attraction - it's simply part of the city's character. Atlanta provides the nearest major tourist infrastructure. Kennesaw is a prosperous suburb; the gun law hasn't made it notably different from neighboring communities.
Located at 34.02°N, 84.62°W in suburban Atlanta, Cobb County, Georgia. From altitude, Kennesaw appears as typical suburban development - residential subdivisions, commercial strips, the forested ridge of Kennesaw Mountain rising to the south. Nothing distinguishes it from neighboring Marietta or Woodstock; the mandatory gun ordinance is invisible from any altitude. The mountain marks Civil War battlefield; the residential areas mark postwar growth. Atlanta sprawls to the southeast. Interstate 75 runs through, carrying commuters to downtown. Kennesaw looks like what it is: a prosperous Atlanta suburb with an unusual law and an identity built around it.