Lots of Things Have Changed For The Worse Since I Was Young...

But not everything. When Kennesaw, Georgia passed a law mandating gun ownership in reaction to Morton Grove, Illinois banning handguns, they were the butt of many jokes among the intellectuals. Now we have the weird situation where they are having to amend one of their ordinances to be more pro-gun! From the August 10, 2007 Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Attorneys for the city of Kennesaw, where landowners are required by law to own and maintain a firearm, said Thursday they are asking local officials to throw out an ordinance that bans people from toting guns in city parks.
The gun-in-parks ordinance violates state law, which pre-empts the Kennesaw ordinance, said Stuart Sims, an attorney for the city.


He said the recommedation was made to comply with a Georgia law that says only the state has the power to determine where guns may be carried or transported.
The action by Kennesaw's attorneys came in response to a letter from GeorgiaCarry.org, which pointed out that the revised state law preempted the council's prohibition on guns in parks.
He said in a letter to GeorgiaCarry.org's attorney, John Monroe of Roswell, that the mayor and City Council of Kennesaw have agreed to consider repealing the ordinance and that therefore, "no legal action is necessary to cure this contradiction between the preempting state statute and this city ordinance" and that Kennesaw now considers "this matter closed."
Fred Bentley Jr., of the Marietta-based Bentley, Bentley & Bentley law firm that represents Kennesaw, said he did not know how long the Kennesaw ordinance has been on the books, but that the Georgia Legislature has reserved the right for itself to determine where firearms can be carried.
GeorgiaCarry.org President Ed Stone said "we believe it is important for Kennesaw and other cities to comply" with state law. "Georgians should not have to research the minutiae of local ordinances while visiting cities and counties throughout Georgia," he said.
Since Kennesaw has compled with his group's demands, he said no legal action will be taken.
He said his group has similar litigation against Coweta County pending in the Georgia Court of Appeals.