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To All CD'ers, I read today's Charlotte Observer "In My Opinion" by Dannye Romine Powell and felt compelled to respond. Her article is a thinly veiled anti-gun commentary against a 76 year-old man (Mr. McClure) defending himself and his wife against four violent teenagers that tied them up, beat them and robbed the home. The 76 year-old man was able to free himself, caught up to one of the robbers and shot him, shortly later the teenage robber died. I would always prefer mercy over justice, but this is one situations, for me, I believe Mr. McClure did the right thing.
Dear Dannye,
I read "In my opinion" this morning, and I have to respectfully disagree to what you're eluding too. As I read your article, you finish with placing the burden of your question (while wearing rose colored glasses) back on a man that never broke the law, paid his taxes, raised a family and has tried to live peacefully in retirement. The fact that it was a group of four teenagers committing violence is irrelevant. However, if it had been four men that acted violently in the same exact way, McClure's actions would be dismissed within a news cycle and you would not be writing your piece. Teenagers do things today that you and I would have never considered while growing up. You simply can not omit that fact there is much more violence in the world and "being safe" is very relative term.
You direct a question towards the McClures, " But will the McClures ever feel safe again?" However, you forget to examine a more basic principle, are the Mcclures glad to be alive under a blue sky at mid-day today? You better believe it.
You can find the perpetrator's myspace page with little effort.
I'm sorry for the mother's loss, but she cannot seriously wail on TV about how good her son was after seeing the pics of him throwing gang signs and posing with weapons.
Now there is a RIP page for him and many of the comments are promoting his violence.
This wasted youth was on the road to nowhere.
If you are pistol whipping old couples at 15, what are you doing at 25?
Where was the father?
Why was he allowed to wander around late at night?
I'm sorry, but 76 yr old McClure is a hero, I would be honored to buy him and his wife a nice meal.
Saving us taxpayers the cost of sending yet another Charlotte thug through our endless revolving door of 'justice'.
Charlotte citizens have had enough.
This whole situation is sad and could have easily been avoided on several levels.
As far as Mr. McClure is concerned, a man should certainly have the right to defend himself and his property. But what makes this situation sticky is that he didn't shoot the 15-year-old in his home or even on his property; he actually got in his car, followed them, and then shot the guy. I think that may be going a bit too far. Had this been done in Mr. McClure's home or on his property, then it would have been an open and shut case: self-defense. But being that the kids had already left, that's what complicates things. Either way, I certainly hope this incident sends a message that people aren't simply going to sit around and tolerate stuff like this. People like Mr. McClure have worked hard their entire lives for the things they enjoy, and people with no respect of self or others feel that they can just do whatever without any consequences. It doesn't work like that.
I have to (painfully) agree with the fact that McClure followed the guy and gunned him down--and that makes him guilty (of what, we'll save that for another argument). Not cool...at least not within the realm of our law. Not that I believe the thug should have gone without a bullet in his brain, but McClure instantly became a non-law abiding citizen when he chased after the guy with intent to kill him. Now, chase him (while armed) with intent to keep up with them so the cops can find them, have at it--and I would likely do this as well! If the thug happens to make another attempt on his life, well, let fate decide that outcome.
If you're a gun owner, especially one who intends to defend himself with a gun, you MUST know and follow the law. Otherwise, in today's panty-waist society, you'll instantly be thrown to the other side of the line and made out to be no better than the piece of crap that you shot.
Good on him for taking out the trash that everyone forgot about. Very bad on him for forgetting about the law.
Am I anti-gun in the home -- Yeah
Do I have any sympathy for criminals -- Uh no. I lost 2 innocent family members to voilent crime. I have NO sympathy for the perpetrators.
Do I believe in the justice system -- Yep.
That said, McClure did not shoot his attacker at his home or even on his property. He decided to take matters into his own hands and chase/follow the attackers down the street and kill one of this. This is not the wild wild west. In doing so, to me, he became just as criminal as his attackers. We don't live like this in America. What if I had been driving down the street when he decided to start shooting? What if a stray bullet had injured someone else. What if the criminals killed McClure?
I'm sorry that this happened to them, but his actions were absolutely wrong. I can empathize with him, but I just don't see how we can say that it was justified.
ETA: I know my opinion will be unpopular and some will say the justice system doesn't work. And they may be correct. But the answer to the problem with the justice system is to get involved and demand better. I contact the parole board every 3 years when the criminal that killed my relatives goes up for review. The one year thatit seemed he "might" be paroled, I contacted every member of family to let them know we needed to act to prevent his release. He won't be released on our watch.
The U.S. military pursues violent criminals and kills them, often with lots of "collateral damage". There was no "collateral damage" here. We have a double standard. This man should be given a medal.
+1. I can see how he would want He crossed the line and endangered everyone else in the neighborhood when he started shooting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by baybook
I'm sorry that this happened to them, but his actions were absolutely wrong. I can empathize with him, but I just don't see how we can say that it was justified.
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