No Fan of Law Enforcement
One of my web friends sent me this news piece. She supports liberal access to firearms and a liberal interpretation of home protection. So do I.
HOUSTON (CBS) -- It will be up to a Texas grand jury to decide whether a man who fatally shot two men he thought were robbing his neighbor's home acted within the state's self-defense laws.
Tough call.
For all the wind that has passed through either end of NRA supporters and their leadership, there have been few incidences of "castle defense" that have not received a rigorous, abrasive and sometimes costly first responses leading to the death or arrest and then court appearances for the castle defender.
The horror stories of no-knock entry by law enforcement into the wrong address have lead to some ugly outcomes for innocent residents and for armed residents who have shot the intruders whether LE or real bad guys.
I don't know about where you live, but here by me, in a metropolitan area of near 50 municipalities both large and tiny, there are ugly and questionable incidences of both plainly criminal and innocent protection shootings everyday or so. Nationally, the number would be astounding to some if they were all reported equally. Gun trauma and death are very common.
There are levels of defense and levels of thwarting crime that demand a firearm depending on remoteness of the victim from LE and neighbors. Individual protection within the confines of the walls of the home are different from that of the edge of the physical setting on which ones castle sits and the proximity of ones dwelling from ones neighbor.
I live in a neighborhood that has large lots, 6-0 foot wooden, wire or masonry fences. My lot backs on a railroad and utility easement. The street is a U-shaped street that has a north and a south entry. I know everyone on this street. We have no formal neighborhood association but we do have a mutual heads up agreement that would allow me or any other on this street to intervene in some way to protect the property of another.
Some of my neighbors have firearms, some don't. I have one antique, 1912 Springfield double-barrel, twelve gauge shotgun that is broken down and stored in a locked drawer along with fresh shells.
Most of my neighbors have electronic alarm systems. I have chosen other passive methods of thwarting intruders. I maintain a strong defense line in my fences. The fences are backed by rank growing Bougainvillea (crown of thorn canes). I am prepared for just about any eventuality of human intrusion. If some Joe Crack-head is looking for something easy, he is going to pass me by. If some semi-pro burglar is looking to steal my rare book collection he is going to work for it. It is LE that I fear that will enter with flash-bang grenades. We would to subjected to rough handling and an assumption of guilt by LE until better minds came to straighten things out. An elderly, ill grandmother in some Chicago hell hole would probably get one round of her 38 off before she was riddled with bullets. Would the NRA mount a defense in her case? I don't think so.
My short answer is that to be prepared for home defense, a form of deadly force may be just the thing. Any LE agency that conducts no knock entries must accept the possibility that they may lose a team member to constitutionally permissible firearm defense by the intruded-upon. A neighbor has every right to call LE to alert then to an intrusion into a neighbors house. His deadly response to intrusion is limited to the walls of his own abode. A person who goes into his yard and make an innocent , aggressive flourish of a firearm may be treated harshly by LE no matter the circumstances Some are even shot in their own doorways when spouting the NRA catch phrases of rights. LE doesn't like guns in the hands of those not in their ranks, on the scene of an incident. If you have a firearm in your hands in their presence, you are subject to the use of deadly force by them. (thus the title of this piece)
It may not be in the law books, court rulings or the constitution but it is drilled into the heads of recruits and old time cops, the NRA be damned. If you shoot someone or harm them with any form of weapon, you will be treated as a common criminal until there is a ruling from your States Attorney's office and their agencies of the courts in your local community. If you shoot an intruder in your home, there is still a rigorous investigation of the circumstances. It makes no difference what the Constitution says, what the general opinion of the local community is, LE has a penchant for treating gun incidents as if they were atomic attacks.
I will soon have a story to tell about a recent experience I had with an ill trained and steroid ingesting police officer. Aside from providing me with a new set of experiences and a first hand view of the process to write about, it left me with a less than confident view of the capabilities of the field components of LE.
The man in Texas will have a long, difficult time having his situation untangled. He will be subjected to closer observation by LE for the rest of his life. He is marked. The NRA be damned (by LE). Being smart, prepared and courteous and unarmed, around LE is a lot more effective than being well armed.
What is your opinion concerning the self defense law. Does it give citizens theProtecting Neighbor's Home Self-Defense?Testing "Castle Doctrine," Grand Jury To Decide If Texas Man Was Right To Kill Burglars
right to shoot burglars when they are not on your property? Was this mans life in
danger as he was trying to be a good neighbor. What would you have done? Just get
a description and then report the break-in or take matters into your own hands?
Should the laws be changed?
HOUSTON (CBS) -- It will be up to a Texas grand jury to decide whether a man who fatally shot two men he thought were robbing his neighbor's home acted within the state's self-defense laws.
Tough call.
For all the wind that has passed through either end of NRA supporters and their leadership, there have been few incidences of "castle defense" that have not received a rigorous, abrasive and sometimes costly first responses leading to the death or arrest and then court appearances for the castle defender.
The horror stories of no-knock entry by law enforcement into the wrong address have lead to some ugly outcomes for innocent residents and for armed residents who have shot the intruders whether LE or real bad guys.
I don't know about where you live, but here by me, in a metropolitan area of near 50 municipalities both large and tiny, there are ugly and questionable incidences of both plainly criminal and innocent protection shootings everyday or so. Nationally, the number would be astounding to some if they were all reported equally. Gun trauma and death are very common.
There are levels of defense and levels of thwarting crime that demand a firearm depending on remoteness of the victim from LE and neighbors. Individual protection within the confines of the walls of the home are different from that of the edge of the physical setting on which ones castle sits and the proximity of ones dwelling from ones neighbor.
I live in a neighborhood that has large lots, 6-0 foot wooden, wire or masonry fences. My lot backs on a railroad and utility easement. The street is a U-shaped street that has a north and a south entry. I know everyone on this street. We have no formal neighborhood association but we do have a mutual heads up agreement that would allow me or any other on this street to intervene in some way to protect the property of another.
Some of my neighbors have firearms, some don't. I have one antique, 1912 Springfield double-barrel, twelve gauge shotgun that is broken down and stored in a locked drawer along with fresh shells.
Most of my neighbors have electronic alarm systems. I have chosen other passive methods of thwarting intruders. I maintain a strong defense line in my fences. The fences are backed by rank growing Bougainvillea (crown of thorn canes). I am prepared for just about any eventuality of human intrusion. If some Joe Crack-head is looking for something easy, he is going to pass me by. If some semi-pro burglar is looking to steal my rare book collection he is going to work for it. It is LE that I fear that will enter with flash-bang grenades. We would to subjected to rough handling and an assumption of guilt by LE until better minds came to straighten things out. An elderly, ill grandmother in some Chicago hell hole would probably get one round of her 38 off before she was riddled with bullets. Would the NRA mount a defense in her case? I don't think so.
My short answer is that to be prepared for home defense, a form of deadly force may be just the thing. Any LE agency that conducts no knock entries must accept the possibility that they may lose a team member to constitutionally permissible firearm defense by the intruded-upon. A neighbor has every right to call LE to alert then to an intrusion into a neighbors house. His deadly response to intrusion is limited to the walls of his own abode. A person who goes into his yard and make an innocent , aggressive flourish of a firearm may be treated harshly by LE no matter the circumstances Some are even shot in their own doorways when spouting the NRA catch phrases of rights. LE doesn't like guns in the hands of those not in their ranks, on the scene of an incident. If you have a firearm in your hands in their presence, you are subject to the use of deadly force by them. (thus the title of this piece)
It may not be in the law books, court rulings or the constitution but it is drilled into the heads of recruits and old time cops, the NRA be damned. If you shoot someone or harm them with any form of weapon, you will be treated as a common criminal until there is a ruling from your States Attorney's office and their agencies of the courts in your local community. If you shoot an intruder in your home, there is still a rigorous investigation of the circumstances. It makes no difference what the Constitution says, what the general opinion of the local community is, LE has a penchant for treating gun incidents as if they were atomic attacks.
I will soon have a story to tell about a recent experience I had with an ill trained and steroid ingesting police officer. Aside from providing me with a new set of experiences and a first hand view of the process to write about, it left me with a less than confident view of the capabilities of the field components of LE.
The man in Texas will have a long, difficult time having his situation untangled. He will be subjected to closer observation by LE for the rest of his life. He is marked. The NRA be damned (by LE). Being smart, prepared and courteous and unarmed, around LE is a lot more effective than being well armed.
posted by Lantern Bearer @ 12:17 PM
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