There's the smell of baked biscuits wafting from Honeysuckle Biscuits & Bakery and the rumble of a nearby railroad train. It's the kind of place where newlyweds leave hand-written thank-you cards in coffee shops, praising the "cozy" atmosphere.
But there's another aspect of Kennesaw that some might find surprising – a city law from the 1980s that legally requires residents to own guns and ammo.
"It's not like you go around wearing it on your hip like the Wild Wild West," said Derek Easterling, the town's three-term mayor and self-described "retired Navy guy".
Kennesaw's gun law plainly states: "In order to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants, every head of household residing in city limits is required to maintain a firearm, together with ammunition."
To Mayor Easterling's knowledge, and that of multiple local officials, there have been no prosecutions or arrests made for violating Article II, Sec 34-21, which came into law in 1982.