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Originally Posted by punky
Noone ever said if you have a gun in your house you have to blow the hell out of anything that moves, but sometimes it helps. |
From the news item you linked to:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by HoustonChronicle.com
Police said the woman was grabbed by one of the armed men and held briefly. When she struggled free, her son exchanged gunfire with the men as they ran away, police said.
Police called to investigate the incident began a search of the area and, about 1 a.m., the body of a gunshot victim was found in the back yard of a home five houses from where the skirmish took place.
Police said evidence probably will be referred to a grand jury without charges.
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So, let's unpack that a little (you may need to read the full article, I don't want to copy and paste the entre thing here).
A woman looks across the street and sees four men breaking into an empty house. She tells her son, who gets his gun before both of them head on over to investigate. Upon disturbing the men, who turn out to be armed, a brief struggle ensues during which the mother is momentarily held. She wrestles free, the men run for it ...
and then a gunfight starts, in the public street, as the son and the crims open fire on one another as the crims are running away. One of the burglars is later found to have collapsed and died of a gunshot wound, a few streets away.
Now, we don't know who fired the first shot, but that really is besides the point. The fact is, the police are saying they will probably not press charges even though the son with the gun was not protecting his own life or property, was engaged in a gunfight in a public street where other lives must certainly have therefore been in peril, and despite the fact that he shot and killed a man
who was running away.
As I'm sure most of us are now aware, the tabloid frenzy having dissipated, part of the reason for Tony Martin's conviction for manslaughter here in the UK was as a result of him shooting a burglar who was running away from him, and who therefore posed no risk to his life or wellbeing. It stuns me that in the USA, the situation outlined by the Houston Chronicle is considered to be acceptable, legal behaviour. You see, it is not just the fact that the son is allowed to own a gun - although it is
certain that a man would be alive today if that son had
not had a gun - it is everything surrounding the issue of gun ownership that is to a great extent justified and legitimised by the fact of gun ownership. If you've got the right to own a gun, you have the right to use it ...
I do not want to live in a country where it is acceptable for a man to chase burglars down the street and shoot at them. My wife or my son could get killed in such a situation.