Text 49717, 88 rader
Skriven 2007-04-20 10:51:50 av Ross Cassell (1:123/456)
  Kommentar till text 49716 av Michiel van der Vlist (1:123/456)
Ärende: Shootings
=================
Hello Michiel!

20 Apr 07 10:18, I wrote to you:

 RC> Having a right and actually employing that right are 2 separate
 RC> things.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55288

VIRGINIA TECH MASSACRE
25 years murder-free in 'Gun Town USA'
Crime rate plummeted after law required firearms for residents

Posted: April 19, 2007
1:52 p.m. Eastern

c 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Kennesaw, Ga., City Hall

As the nation debates whether more guns or fewer can prevent tragedies like the
Virginia Tech Massacre, a notable anniversary passed last month in a Georgia
town that witnessed a dramatic plunge in crime and violence after mandating
residents to own firearms.

In March 1982, 25 years ago, the small town of Kennesaw - responding to a
handgun ban in Morton Grove, Ill. - unanimously passed an ordinance requiring
each head of household to own and maintain a gun. Since then, despite dire
predictions of "Wild West" showdowns and increased violence and accidents, not
a single resident has been involved in a fatal shooting - as a victim, attacker
or defender.

The crime rate initially plummeted for several years after the passage of the
ordinance, with the 2005 per capita crime rate actually significantly lower
than it was in 1981, the year before passage of the law.

Prior to enactment of the law, Kennesaw had a population of just 5,242 but a
crime rate significantly higher (4,332 per 100,000) than the national average
(3,899 per 100,000). The latest statistics available - for the year 2005 - show
the rate at 2,027 per 100,000. Meanwhile, the population has skyrocketed to
28,189.

By comparison, the population of Morton Grove, the first city in Illinois to
adopt a gun ban for anyone other than police officers, has actually dropped
slightly and stands at 22,202, according to 2005 statistics. More
significantly, perhaps, the city's crime rate increased by 15.7 percent
immediately after the gun ban, even though the overall crime rate in Cook
County rose only 3 percent. Today, by comparison, the township's crime rate
stands at 2,268 per 100,000.

This was not what some predicted.

In a column titled "Gun Town USA," Art Buchwald suggested Kennesaw would soon
become a place where routine disagreements between neighbors would be settled
in shootouts. The Washington Post mocked Kennesaw as "the brave little city .
soon to be pistol-packing capital of the world." Phil Donahue invited the mayor
on his show.

Reuters, the European news service, today revisited the Kennesaw controversy
following the Virginia Tech Massacre.

Police Lt. Craig Graydon said: "When the Kennesaw law was passed in 1982 there
was a substantial drop in crime . and we have maintained a really low crime
rate since then. We are sure it is one of the lowest (crime) towns in the metro
area." Kennesaw is just north of Atlanta.

The Reuters story went on to report: "Since the Virginia Tech shootings, some
conservative U.S. talk show 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."

Virginia Tech, like many of the nation's schools and college campuses, is a
so-called "gun-free zone," which Second Amendment supporters say invites gun
violence - especially from disturbed individuals seeking to kill as many
victims as possible.

Cho Seung-Hui murdered 32 and wounded another 15 before turning his gun on
himself.

==
Ross
Fidonet Feeds Or Fidonet In Your Newsreader! http://www.easternstar.info
Archive And Discussion Forum For Fidonets looniest: http://www.matzdobre.us
R18 Blog: region18.blogspot.com | Fido Blog: fightonet.blogspot.com
Personal Blog: http://www.cassell.us | Email: ross[at]cassell[dot]us
... Without High Taxes And Welfare, Liberals Are Nothing!
--- GoldED+/W32 1.1.5-30413
 * Origin: The Eastern Star - Spartanburg, SC USA (1:123/456)