Open the gate or close it--CC&Rs

I live in one of Gig Harbor's many subdivisions that comes complete with a name and CC&Rs.  In fact, with the exception of the 8 $700,000+ homes called Maple Glen, all little developments have CC&Rs and HOA dues.  My little community happens to be gated.  Gates are supposed to add value and security to the properties inside.  My question is do they?  My gut says, "Yes!"  but is there any hard evidence to support it?  Next week I will be attending the bi-annual HOA meeting where a small group has proposed opening the gate--they think it is just "unfriendly" and does not add anything to maintaining our property values.  I'd like to go armed with some facts and not just my intuition, so can anyone help me??????