Atlanta is one of the most crime-ridden cities in America. It’s run by Democratic Mayor Andre Dickens and has a one in seventeen chance of being a victim of violent crime.
Whereas not every Atlanta neighborhood is the same, not even close. Now, one suburb of Atlanta is trying to go through the process of separating from the city.
Anarchy in Atlanta
Much of inner-city Atlanta is full of gang shootings, drugs, theft, and violent crime. Though the community of Buckhead is a 24-square-mile paradise in comparison located on the north of Atlanta.
The average income in Atlanta is $68,806, while Buckhead’s average is almost twice as high at $109,774. It’s not just about money, either. Buckhead is relatively safe or, at least, it has been until recently.
It’s home to stars like Elton John and Mariah Carey (although she sold her mansion after it was broken into). The GOP-run Senate has passed a motion allowing Buckhead to have a referendum.
The neighborhood wants its own leadership out of the reach of the city’s Democratic leadership, saying the northside is starved of resources and not being sufficiently protected from encroaching problems and crime.
Buckhead doesn’t want to be part of Atlanta anymore. It wants to be its own city.
The Republican controlled Georgia state legislature is voting today on allowing Buckhead to separate from the dangerous Democrat controlled city of Atlanta and be its own city.
A vote against Buckhead city is a vote FOR crime.
A vote for Buckhead city is a vote FOR freedom.… https://t.co/mWBiRIb1pI
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) February 27, 2023
Referendum for Buckhead?
Buckhead is now permitted to hold a referendum and go from being just a suburb with limited legislative and police power to an actual city. Buckhead independence advocates say that Buckhead is being picked on because it’s wealthier and more crime is starting to occur.
They want to run their own affairs so they can do more to stop crime and drugs encroaching into their lives.
Statistics on the ground look a little bit different. While murder is up across Atlanta, Buckhead has been decreasing in crime for the last year. The only exception is shoplifting, which has gone up quite a lot in Buckhead.
Local statistics indicate that all crimes except shoplifting actually decreased in Buckhead in 2022, 11ALIVE said. Homicides in Atlanta overall remain on the rise.
If the Senate passes both of these bills and allows the referendum, along with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, then this will go to a vote for the elections in November next year.
Buckhead is really trying to separate from Atlanta, huh?
— Brandon (@beejaydoubleu) March 1, 2023
The Bottom Line
A poll last summer showed only 30% of residents advocating to separate Buckhead and make it an independent city, while 61% preferred to stay and the others undecided.
The truth of the matter is that creating a separate city is a very big venture.
What’s also clear is there’s a lot of frustration building, not only in Buckhead, but in law-abiding communities across the country where people see lawlessness on the rise and fear for the safety of their families.
