Elderly man fatally shoots 2 reported burglars--NEWS FLASH!!

[rkhal]

Would you just sit back if you were in a gas station and it was being robbed? It's not your property, they have insurance against such things.

Short answer --- Yes. I carry to defend myself and my loved ones. I am not a cop and don't want to be. If the BGs can rob the gas station without endangering me I would let them.

I hope that this guy gets off but he did run his mouth a lot when he shouldn't have. He made the situation sound like vigilanteism instead of good citizenship and that can effect all of us.

[DoubleActionCHL]

I heard Michael Berry is starting a defense fund for Joe Horn. I intend to contribute. Anyone know the status of this?

I was waiting to see if he was even going to need one, but my wife and I were considering doing the same thing. I'd rather put the money into defending this American than housing and feeding criminals.

[DoubleActionCHL]

Would you just sit back if you were in a gas station and it was being robbed? It's not your property, they have insurance against such things.

Short answer --- Yes. I carry to defend myself and my loved ones. I am not a cop and don't want to be. If the BGs can rob the gas station without endangering me I would let them.

I hope that this guy gets off but he did run his mouth a lot when he shouldn't have. He made the situation sound like vigilanteism instead of good citizenship and that can effect all of us.

Yeah, he ran his mouth, but I don't consider it vigilanteism at all. I consider it acknowledging the reality of the situation. He simply stated out loud what any of us would have been thinking in a similar situation. When you pull your carry weapon in a situation that justifies deadly force, you are thinking, "I'm going to kill this guy," aren't you?

To me, indicting him on what he said is tantamount to thought crime. It's not the "killing the bad guys" we're worried about, but "what was he thinking when he killed the bad guys" that seems to be so important. To me, that's Orwellian and should not play a role in the indictment.

[Doug.38PR]

I just heard that Dan Patrick, state senator, said on his radio show while talking about this incident yesterday that he is going to introduce legislation, if somebody else doesn't, to clarify the law of deadly force regarding nighttime/daytime etc.

[Stupid]

In the culture I am from, vigilants (not sure the exactly same meaning) are highly praised and decorated by society and law enforcement. From our education since kindergarten, we have been taught to be brave and to stand up to the bad guys. In the country I am from, this guy would get a medal, seriously.

It is very unnatural for me to hear some American say "oh, they want to rob a gas station, none of my business." Well, I think mentality like this is the root cause of the high crime. The law, the media, the whole society discourage any heroic behavior and encourage the criminals, which is very disturbing. In my country, criminals, who have violated other people's rights first, get no right.

Since I cannot change the law here, I am going to do what DoubleActionCHL said "I'd rather put the money into defending this American than housing and feeding criminals."

[lawrnk]

According to the Chronicle yesterday, 80% of respondents are in favor of Mr. Horn. Few people on this forum have not sided with Joe Horn. The issue here was Horn running his mouth. That is what made this national news, not that some old white man shot 2 black men.
at least IMHO


Curious, what country are you from?

In the culture I am from, vigilants (not sure the exactly same meaning) are highly praised and decorated by society and law enforcement. From our education since kindergarten, we have been taught to be brave and to stand up to the bad guys. In the country I am from, this guy would get a medal, seriously.

It is very unnatural for me to hear some American say "oh, they want to rob a gas station, none of my business." Well, I think mentality like this is the root cause of the high crime. The law, the media, the whole society discourage any heroic behavior and encourage the criminals, which is very disturbing. In my country, criminals, who have violated other people's rights first, get no right.

Since I cannot change the law here, I am going to do what DoubleActionCHL said "I'd rather put the money into defending this American than housing and feeding criminals."

[rspeir]

Mars had a question about this the other night while we were watching the news. He questioned how it was that the black burglars had Spanish surnames and were from the Carribbean.

Mainly, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are a stones throw away from each other, and since Christopher Colombus discovered Dominican Republic (Hispaniola), then the official language since 1492 has been SPANISH. That is really why almost everyone on both islands have a spanish surname. Puerto Rico only became a US territory in last couple decades.

Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory since the U.S. Senate ratified the Treat of Paris of 1898 on Feb. 6, 1899.

[<lost>]

IThe law, the media, the whole society discourage any heroic behavior and encourage the criminals, which is very disturbing. In my country, criminals, who have violated other people's rights first, get no right.

Excuse the hair splitting but can we use "courageous behavior" instead of "heroic behavior"? IMO is puts individuals who have gone over and above and demonstrated heroic behavior in the same category with those who demonstrated courageous behavior and took a stand.

Some people that seem more than fitting to recipients of the term Heroic Behavior:
Lieutenant Michael Murphy
Master Sergeant Gary Gordon
Sergeant First Class Randall Shughart
and the list goes on and on

This doesn't include the contractors, fathers and mothers who have paid the ultimate price.

[atxgun]

- Police have a good chance of recovering the property if the person got a good look at their faces and was a good witness

What percentage of burglaries end up with the property being recovered?

My apt was robbed a few years back while I was away on x-mas vacation. They took all the electronics, dvds, some clothes and my bike. The only thing I got back was my bike b/c I was lucky enough to call the shop where I bought it and they gave me the serial number. It turned up in a pawn shop. A warrant was issued for the guy after that (yeah he used his real ID when he pawned it) but i'm not sure if he ever got picked up and charged.

I didn't recover anything else. IMHO the biggest loss was all the documents, pictures and emails on the computer I had have been building for many years.

[TxBlonde]

Some people may not agree with me but some of my personal Items are worth killing over. Stuff that can NEVER be replaced is worth it.

I am not saying I would kill over my pictures on my wall but I would kill over my grandfathers coin collection. Some of those are worth thousands of dollars and if someone can prove to me where an insurance company is going to give me fair market value for it then no I won't shoot someone over it.

That is my children's college fund. THEIR future that has been saved since before I was born and no one will take that from them as long as I am alive and breathing.

What if that money they stole was for something very important like a needed surgery. If they had gotten away how would of that homeowner been able to prove he even had the money. Some do not trust banks.

boomerang wrote:
Russell wrote:
- Police have a good chance of recovering the property if the person got a good look at their faces and was a good witness

What percentage of burglaries end up with the property being recovered?

My LEO friend said this is very rare for items that are not pawnable or are not a vehicle to be recovered. Even if it is pawnable able it is very rare they pawn it. Normally it gets traded from one to another for drugs. And last time I check drug users do not check to see if something is stolen or not.

You know if I was working at a store and I was being robbed I would pray that someone would help me. AND NOT JUST SIT IN THEIR CAR AND DO NOTHING BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT BEING THREATENED.

What ever happened to watching each others back in this country???

[atxgun]

What if that money they stole was for something very important like a needed surgery. If they had gotten away how would of that homeowner been able to prove he even had the money. Some do not trust banks.

That's the risk you take if you keep your money under the mattress, so to speak.

<joke>Maybe if you entered all the serial numbers on wheresgeorge.com you could prove those bills were yours</joke>

[Lucky45]

Mars had a question about this the other night while we were watching the news. He questioned how it was that the black burglars had Spanish surnames and were from the Carribbean.

Mainly, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are a stones throw away from each other, and since Christopher Colombus discovered Dominican Republic (Hispaniola), then the official language since 1492 has been SPANISH. That is really why almost everyone on both islands have a spanish surname. Puerto Rico only became a US territory in last couple decades.

Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory since the U.S. Senate ratified the Treat of Paris of 1898 on Feb. 6, 1899.

I was using a figure of speech comparing 515years ago in Dominican Republic to 108years ago in Puerto Rico.

[Venus Pax]

You know if I was working at a store and I was being robbed I would pray that someone would help me. AND NOT JUST SIT IN THEIR CAR AND DO NOTHING BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT BEING THREATENED.

What ever happened to watching each others back in this country???

I agree with the sentiment, but I think the issue is that Good Samaritan laws don't cover us for shooting the BG to save someone's life or possessions. It's quite unfortunate.
Essentially, you could shoot the BG, but your bullet could hit an innocent person. You could be held liable for that person's injury or death.

[40FIVER]

You know if I was working at a store and I was being robbed I would pray that someone would help me. AND NOT JUST SIT IN THEIR CAR AND DO NOTHING BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT BEING THREATENED.

What ever happened to watching each others back in this country???

I agree with the sentiment, but I think the issue is that Good Samaritan laws don't cover us for shooting the BG to save someone's life or possessions. It's quite unfortunate.
Essentially, you could shoot the BG, but your bullet could hit an innocent person. You could be held liable for that person's injury or death.

It's not a sentiment. It is a belief in upholding what is good and right- That you would come to the aid of another person, regardless of the consequences.

This statement is not made toward you Venus, but is a reply to a post before yours:
Those who carry for only selfish reasons (me and mine), have lost that ideal that has made America so great.

I'm sure others will disagree,

[Lucky45]

Those who carry for only selfish reasons (me and mine), have lost that ideal that has made America so great.

I'm sure others will disagree,

Not really, why is it selfish? Those who carry to protect others should join the Academy and become an outstanding and upright Police Officer. Most departments are short staffed and you will have all the RIGHTS and PRIVILEGES as such.