What sort of people rob houses? They could be all sorts. They could be punk kids who have nothing better to do, or punk kids needing to support a drug habit. It could be some strung-out meth head with an unpredictable nature. It could be someone who has done nothing but crime all their lives. I am out of work and I have not had to rob anyone's house to feed my family.

Sorry, mate, but if someone breaks into my house I don't have time to play Dr, Phil or interview them. They are already a threat so they are going to get help, possibly permanent help. Help that means they need want no longer. I think you have an overly simplistic, idealistic view of crime and criminals. There are skinheads here, neo-nazis, whack jobs, malcontents and just some general jerk-offs running around. We have some arsehole up in the Poconos who killed one State Trooper and wounded another. Yeah, OK- he killed a police officer. So he needs to be shot, right?

Guess what? If he shows up at my house he will get shot by me no questions asked. I would probably get a commendation for it and of course it is an extreme example. You are approaching this as though in all cases the people being shot are general, all-around good people. In many or most cases, they are not.

Oscar Pistorious is likely to get away with manslaughter because of his celebrity, not because he is not guilty of killing his girlfriend. He is an example of taking the breaking and entering bit to an implausible extreme. I have followed a bit of that case and I really cannot see how he did that and thought there was a burglar. Nonsense.

A person does not have to have a gun to be a threat in someone's house. The delay in not taking someone else's life in a robbery situation may be the difference between your living or dying, or someone in your family living or dying. Say I find a guy in my house, confront him with a gun and he runs out of ny bedroom or living room and to my daughter, taking her as a hostage? I won't take that chance, especially with a dsperate person. Maybe they are desperate, maybe just dangerous. No percentage in it for me to find out; I'll be glad to be edified later.

Actually, I hope to never have to be in that situation. It would never be easy.

** LOL, stopping and entering is not a crime.  :-)

 

Did you ever see such a messed up situation in your whole life, son?

Set up for tea, perhaps?
 

By then, it may be too late and the point is moot. The difference between you and me is, I am not going to wait. This is an age old argument, but it bears repeating for it is the absolute truth: If we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns.

But this thread is derailed anyway. The thread title is Gun Laws. I have stated already that if the U.S. would simply follow and enforce the laws we already have, we would be in much better shape. We are on a side track of hypothetical situations that, though possible, are still hypothetical. No one actually knows what they will do in a given situation in the heat of the moment, and there are any number of scenarios that can involve guns, knives, baseball/cricket bats, heavy vases, bare hands, wine bottles, books, frying pans or other household items that can be used for killing in the heat of the moment. Every single item I mentioned has been used to kill. One woman in Texas fatally stabbed her boyfriend with a stilleto heel. Killer heels, mmmmmm!  :-P

 

Did you ever see such a messed up situation in your whole life, son?

We do, and I will gladly show you my boobs although I doubt it would be the same for you. By the time you get here I hope to have lost the bit of relaxation that has caused this bit of manboobery (it isn't like I need a bra or a "mansier", mate  :-P ).

"Show" is probably overstating things a bit, since I was a bit far away and could not really see what may have been lovely assets those two had. Is that some sort of a custom to do that in Stratford, upon that gentle, arched bridge? In any event, should you find yourself on the East coast, I shall do as much as I can to ensure you will experience a vision of lovliness appropriate for a chap of your stature. And not by going to Double Visions, either. [G]
 

Good intentions gone all wrong. But even at that, the local townships, even with a fancy RV would be no match for guerilla warfare if it came down to it. At least I expect not. I don't think they are allowed to have Apache helicopters and they are a bitch to maintain anyway. If we had Apaches, you guys would be bitching that we had those too.  LMAO

No college campus needs an MRAP, APC or 10,000 rounds of ammo for AR-15s and neither does a police precinct. If there is a neighborhood that has gotten out of hand to the degree that all those munitions are required, then the police and local government has allowed it to get that way. Call the National Guard in and clean it out, using bulldozers if necessary.

 

Did you ever see such a messed up situation in your whole life, son?