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You cant be serious. If he shot him in the knee he would lose everything, you are advocating crippling someone?
Also, if a cop points a gun at you & you attack he will shoot, why should Joe citizen be different? Its logical to assume that a person advancing into a guns muzzle wants to kill or do great bodily harm to you.
My children started shooting around 5 years of age, my guns are locked up except for the one I carry, but now, at the ages of 11 & 13 I have zero concern that they would play with or misuse them. My family's saftey is worth enough to me that I have taken every step I feel prudent to guarentee their saftey. Ignoring the possibility of a home intruder doesn't strike me as being responsible.
Oh so true Tin. Shoot someone in the knee, shoulder or whatever, they aren't going to wlak out of the hospital the next morning, and it is quite possiblt that the injured member will have to be amputated, IF the guy survives the shock. A bullet hiting a joint is devastating, pneumonia and othe pumlonary/ circulatory complications set in within minutes, the trauma is massive and can often be slowly and painfully lethal. Aside from the fact that aiming for a target that small will get you killed since the likleyhood of a miss is raised considerably. Center mass. When it's you or the goblin, it does not pay to take chances.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
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I have two initial reactions to the story.
First is that this is not something to be lauded nor punished. This was a reasonable response on the part of the homeowner to a home invasion and it amounts to a tragedy for the invaded family and the Barnett family. I imagine that it would be extremely difficult to forget exactly where the blood spatters were and the sound and the flash of the weapon would be called to mind every time you walked through the door that the intruder kicked in. There should be no pride in this, just an appreciation for the safety of the invaded family.
My second reaction is a bit more callous. I think this is evidence that a handgun is inadequate as a home defense weapon. If someone is trying to kick my door down in the middle of the night, I'll be wielding a 12 gauge. I don't want to take any chances of losing a fistfight with an intruder or even give him an opportunity to get close.
To Glass of Merlot:
If someone knows that you are in your house and continues to attempt forced entry - the only reasonable assumption one can make is that he has less than honorable intentions. If someone knows that you are in your house, awake and have a firearm yet continues to attempt forced entry - he has more or less put you in a position where application of lethal force is not only warranted but necessitated.
Here in Florida but down in Orlando area, there were like three deaths early in the year, all from a private person using deadly force to protect themselves or another person.
I feel fortunate to NOT live in such an area, I live in a quiet, peaceful neighborhood however there are towns near me that have a large undesireable element. I don't consider it paranoid to consider at some point, especially in these hard economic times that some of the undeseriable element could wander this way instead of that way.
The cases of violent crime to get money have gone up of late. I don't want to be one of the targets. I don't desire to shoot anyone. I want to be left alone to live my life as best I can. However if someone breaks in here, I could never live with myself if they hurt or killed my daughter.
First is that this is not something to be lauded nor punished. This was a reasonable response on the part of the homeowner to a home invasion and it amounts to a tragedy for the invaded family and the Barnett family. I imagine that it would be extremely difficult to forget exactly where the blood spatters were and the sound and the flash of the weapon would be called to mind every time you walked through the door that the intruder kicked in. There should be no pride in this, just an appreciation for the safety of the invaded family.
My second reaction is a bit more callous. I think this is evidence that a handgun is inadequate as a home defense weapon. If someone is trying to kick my door down in the middle of the night, I'll be wielding a 12 gauge. I don't want to take any chances of losing a fistfight with an intruder or even give him an opportunity to get close.
To Glass of Merlot:
If someone knows that you are in your house and continues to attempt forced entry - the only reasonable assumption one can make is that he has less than honorable intentions. If someone knows that you are in your house, awake and have a firearm yet continues to attempt forced entry - he has more or less put you in a position where application of lethal force is not only warranted but necessitated.
"Neither to be lauded or condemned'. Well put. It's just something that happened, that could have been avoided had circumstances been different. No more no less. I'll agree. to a point, that a shotgun is preferable to a handgun for defensive purposes. I keep a handgun , personally, because it allows me to hold a good flashlight with one hand and the weapon in the other. Both items reside in my nightstand cabinet. I hope I never have to use them.
I think some responsibity lies with the parents of the young man who broke into this house. I have told my daughter that if I ever find out she is doing something like doing drugs, I will turn her over to the police myself. I will give them access without a warrant to search our home to gather evidence. If you don't teach them this lesson before they turn 18 then your powers are somewhat limited. You of course can still turn them into the police which I personally think is the best thing for a drug addict. BUT you can't have them commited against their will to a detox situation as easily.
People with problem kids stand about wringing their hands and DOING nothing. How is it when you know your kid is breaking the law, you don't call the police. I can tell you letting them spend some time in jail is the BEST thing for them AND this kid might still be alive had his parents taken the tough love route with him.
You know what I find offensive?? ANYONE thinking they have the right to break into my home. Thats the REAL offense here. Your family should have had a better idea of what was going on with this kid rather then turning your head so as not face the sordidness of it all.
If it were me, I would have emptied my gun into him and reloaded just to make sure. Spare me the crying that he had a problem and it wasn't really his fault. WELL whose fault is it then? He was your family, its YOUR job to take care of his problem, when he starts breaking into other peoples homes, then its OUR problem and the reality is many of us are armed.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,766,834 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by NVplumber
"Neither to be lauded or condemned'. Well put. It's just something that happened, that could have been avoided had circumstances been different. No more no less. I'll agree. to a point, that a shotgun is preferable to a handgun for defensive purposes. I keep a handgun , personally, because it allows me to hold a good flashlight with one hand and the weapon in the other. Both items reside in my nightstand cabinet. I hope I never have to use them.
Let me clarify a bit...
My Glock 21 stays within easy reach of my side of the bed.
My shotgun stays in the closet with a full mag.
While I would prefer to have my shotty in hand, I would hate to be messing with the safe if I needed it fast. It takes me about 45 seconds to go from in bed to ready to fire the 870. It takes me about 5 seconds to go from in bed to ready to fire the Glock. I hope I have 45 seconds or more, but I would be absolutely thrilled to fill my hand with .45 ACP if I needed it fast.
My Glock 21 stays within easy reach of my side of the bed.
My shotgun stays in the closet with a full mag.
While I would prefer to have my shotty in hand, I would hate to be messing with the safe if I needed it fast. It takes me about 45 seconds to go from in bed to ready to fire the 870. It takes me about 5 seconds to go from in bed to ready to fire the Glock. I hope I have 45 seconds or more, but I would be absolutely thrilled to fill my hand with .45 ACP if I needed it fast.
In my opinion, thats what a security system is really for, the police won't get there in time even at their fastest but it will give you a warning and an idea of where they are breaking in.
I want to get an automatic one day like a Glock, I like the feel of the gun in my hands AND the fact it carries more bullets. When I worked in the police department, one of the officers told me that they watched a video of a drugged up guy firing on the police, the police returned fire and with 1/3 of the mans head blown off, he was still coming at them AND shooting at the same time.
I would rather be prepared then a lamb to the slaughter.
One of my neighbors has suggested that I take my daughter to the shooting range with her and I. I think this might help her understand the capabilities of what the gun can do. Right now its all about what I have told her or she has seen on TV. I think a shot of reality might be a good thing, not that I would be any less vigilent when she is in the house alone with the gun. You hear so many stories of children getting out a gun to show it off and then accidently shooting themselves or their friend. I make sure I have my trigger lock on it if I am not home and she is and I never leave her at home alone at night.
Here in Florida they have created some laws that make it posible to carry a concealed weapon in your car without a license. Then of course if you get into a situation where you need to use it, you can take it out and use it. This happened earlier in the year at a convenience store here in the greater Orlando area. A young man went into the store and found a man with a knife trying to kill the cashier which the young man knew, he went back to his car, got his gun and shot the assailant dead on the spot and had no problems legally for his actions.
They have also changed the law to say that if I am threatened out in the public domain, I no longer have to retreat, I can stand my ground and shoot if I need to. Having said that I don't carry my gun but I have to admit the other day when I went down to the airport, I was going to make sure I went the way where I didn't have to pay tolls, which means not so nice areas, I thought about bringing my gun with me just in case.
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