By Eric Hudson
Wednesday was like most days for Kennesaw resident Larry "Gibby" Gibson. As he pulled up to Adams Park off of Watts Dr., he pulled out his riffle.
"I try to get out here right as the sun comes up," said Gibson as he picked up the gun and took aim. "This is just like my army days--those bastards should have never kicked me out."
The Kennesaw City Council recently decided not to pass an ordinance that would ban the carrying of firearms in public parks, to the delight of Gibson.
"I have every right to carry," he said. "I can be in this park anytime I want with this gun."
Kennesaw Mayor Leonard Church told the AJC on Tuesday the city rescineded its ordinance to ban firearms in parks to avoid a lawsuit from a pro-gun group called GeorgiaCarry.org. The group cited a law that gives ony the state the power to regulate where firearms may be carried.
So, Gibson carries on. Most mornings he can be standing in the outfield of the baseball field, firing toward a target on home plate. But he can be found all over the park.
"If there are kids playing baseball out here, of course I move," said Gibson. "Sometimes I will move to the scoring tower and fire down on different targets. Other times I will stand in the woods or hide behind buildings. It is all in good fun. There was one baseball team that would let me shoot the pop flys they hit during practice."
Gibson doesn't always take target practice with his riffle either.
"Sometimes it's a handgun. Sometimes it's a machine gun. Once it was a grenade," he said. "I just ordered a rocket launcher. I can't wait till that get here 'cause I got this huge target set up next to the playground."
Gibson said the right to carry firearms in the park is a Constitutional right that must be honored.
"I have the right to protect myself, and that means anywhere I go. What if someone tries to rob me? Shouldn't I be able to pull out a bazooka and protect myself? I think so, and so did our founding fathers."
In 1982, Kennesaw passed a law requiring heads of households to keep at least one firearm in the house. According to Gary Kleck, author of several books promoting gun ownership, the residential burglary rate dropped 89 percent in Kennesaw, compered to a 10.4 percent decrease across the state over the same period. Kleck also said 10 years later the residential burglary rate was 72 percent lower than it had been before the law was passed.
Gibson said he doesn't care too much about the history of the law.
"I am just glad I can be out here with my gun. I am even planning a bring your gun to the park night," He said. "Right now it is scheduled to be on Sept. 14, which also happens to be kids in the park night."