Self Defense or Not (girlfriend, husband, father, emotion)
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I believe all this happened in the past too. I don't think these are new situations, just more of the same. With today's social media, cameras everywhere, cameras on doorbells, etc, it puts a spotlight on issues that maybe were not readily known in the past.
Many many years ago, our church group was having a party at someone's house. The kind of party where everyone was supposed to bring SOMETHING to the party. My friend walked into a strangers house (he had the wrong address) with his chips and litre of soda, straight into the kitchen, thinking he was in the right place, until he actually noticed the shocked faces sitting around the dining table wasn't anyone that he knew.
High embarassment, profuse apologies, and out the door he went. LOL
I believe all this happened in the past too. I don't think these are new situations, just more of the same. With today's social media, cameras everywhere, cameras on doorbells, etc, it puts a spotlight on issues that maybe were not readily known in the past.
That about sums things up. Plus, actually knowing and understanding your local laws plays a large part in determining a good or bad shoot. Shooting someone through a door or window is generally not a defensive act because the subject is outside the room. If the subject is retreating there is no immediate threat.
Common sense should prevail. The driver of a car pulling into your driveway may be lost or just missed the house he was looking for. In many states you cannot shoot someone just because they're walking across your lawn. Conversely, you must know if you have any duty to retreat and even if self defense is lawful where you reside.
Also understand "Stand your ground" and "Castle doctrine" mean where YOU reside. Neither of those terms permit you to shoot first and ask questions later. Again, it all comes down to knowing how the laws WHERE YOU LIVE ARE and will be read in court, should you pull the trigger, or display any weapon.
I can see the jury MAYBE having some sympathy for the man, and for his age...but I keep thinking "All this kid did was ring the doorbell."
Salesmen ring doorbells
Jehovah's Witness ring doorbells
When friends come to visit, they ring doorbells
This kid wasn't poking around in the bushes. He wasn't trying to break in...he simply rang the doorbell. In no one's world, has it been ok to shoot someone who rings your doorbell.
This reminds me of the guy a couple of years ago, who heard someone knocking or ringing the doorbell on his front porch in the wee hours of the night. He got his gun, went downstairs, and opened the door just wide enough to fire his gun. Turned out, it was his wife coming home early from her graveyard shift at work. He hadn't even given himself a chance to eyeball the person at the door. No peephole? No window near the door to peek through? So he ended up with a dead wife on his porch to explain to police.
Since we can't claim that we are the land of the free, since we rate about 17th, we are now the land of the most frightened people in the world. We need more guns for protection from the Boogie Man. I have lived all over the world, even in war zones, and never experienced the paranoia here. If you arm yourself it should not be for the protection of a villain, it should be more for protecting yourself from the good people with guns.
This is very bad gunhandling. You need to be sure of your target.
Maybe some of these people need better doors. I have a heavy security door instead of a screen door (well, it does have screens but it will hold up something much stronger than a mosquito for several noisy minutes) and if I have an unexpected visitor I can look at them through that. Also have a burglar alarm that I can push the "panic button" on, which will make the alarm go off. if the unexpected visitor seems to be trying to get in uninvited. A locked gate across my driveway means no vehicles are going to be in my yard at night, no vehicles with squirrely looking guys in them. If a vehicle *does* show up at night, I'm already alerted that they broke through the gate, so I'm calling the Sherriff right then.
All this is to avoid having to shoot, and, if the person continues to try to break in, it shows that I did indeed warn them.
The guy who shot his own wife is a card-carrying idiot. So is the dimwit who shot that kid through his door.
Is it self defense when someone turns around in your driveway or comes to your door accidentally? I don't think these 2 will be upheld for self defense or Stand your Ground, I guess they are the same thing.
I believe Social Media and 24/7 news about shooting and crime has affected adults, their perception has changed from years ago using guns for protection. They are getting paranoid, this stuff is getting in their heads and they fear of being shot, when they did not enter the home in either case. They did not break the threshold of their home. So they have a different reaction from long ago. There have always been people with guns for protection, but how they use them has changed.
It's not uncommon for things we read or see on the news or social media to get in someone's head and paranoia replaces common sense.
Your thoughts please. Just saw a professor and a head of psychiatry talking about this issue, not so much the cases, but the thought processes we have because of the increase of crime and the social media and 24/7 news affects our thinking.
I think the news has helped create a scared nation of people.
I don’t take this topic lightly since I’m a very physically imposing male at 6’5 and 300+ lbs and do delivery work as a side gig. I’ve paid out of my own pocket as a contractor for things like vests and car signs so I can identify myself as a delivery driver to reduce the risk of some a-hole getting scared and trying to blow my head off. I don’t even knock or ring the doorbell of a residence unless a customer specifically requests it. It is exhausting being this worried to do a job. But I don’t really have a choice since this pays the best of all the gig jobs.
I have no idea why people reach for a gun as a first line of defense. A few years ago, my mom who is an older single woman living in a exurb of Louisville had a strange car come park in her driveway in the early morning. She first thought it was me on a surprise visit so she texted me. Soon as I saw the message I called her and informed her I was nowhere near her and I had just got out of bed all the way in Virginia. She then called the police and hid in her crawl space until the cops came and had the car told and checked her house. This was a woman who didn’t believe in gun ownership so she had to be resourceful on keeping herself safe. Grabbing for a gun on first instinct is lazy and could be deadly for either side.
The elderly have become prey in the large cities. They are afraid to leave their homes. Fear can/will eventually make you irrational. Most cannot afford to move. They get mugged often. The gangs know when they get their social security checks and take whatever money they can get. I knew an elderly man who was killed for a bag of food from McDonalds. Just imagine living in constant fear.
The elderly have become prey in the large cities. They are afraid to leave their homes. Fear can/will eventually make you irrational. Most cannot afford to move. They get mugged often. The gangs know when they get their social security checks and take whatever money they can get. I knew an elderly man who was killed for a bag of food from McDonalds. Just imagine living in constant fear.
He had his gun with him when he went to the door, opened front door and shot through the glass door, then stepped out and shot yarl a second time.
If someone is living in such fear, install a camera or ring, or don’t answer the door and call the police. Looking at his history and the opinions of his children and grandson I don’t think he was a helpless vulnerable old man.
I am 1000 percent in favor of armed citizens and favor the right to shoot anyone posing a threat.
Ringing a doorbell is not threatening in any way. It is the proper, accepted way to approach a house at night. Having the gun with him was not a problem IMHO. Deciding to shoot the kid was totally out of line. I hope this man is charged with attempted murder.
I often answer the door with a gun ready. I have a gun ready if someone pulls in my driveway at night. I have not yet had cause to shoot a person and never will unless he is a serious threat.
The right to bear arms is not a right to kill as we please.
He had his gun with him when he went to the door, opened front door and shot through the glass door, then stepped out and shot yarl a second time.
If someone is living in such fear, install a camera or ring, or don’t answer the door and call the police. Looking at his history and the opinions of his children and grandson I don’t think he was a helpless vulnerable old man.
He should not have shot the kid, but calling the police in Kansas City is a waste of time.
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