Lubbock man who fatally shot intruder probably won't be char

[HEMIzygote]

Governor Perry ordered the Texas State Flag to fly at half-staff on Tuesday in honor of Charles Ross Baker.

[matchstick]

Why is it socially acceptable to turn your brain off? That's what getting drunk does. This poor kid in the name of "having fun" got drunk enough to not know where he lived.

I'll never understand everyone's fascination with making their brains not work and then being sick the next day. If any groups are going to get up in arms about this, it had better not be anti-gun groups, it should be an anti-binge drinking group.

Please don't impair your brain, you have it for a reason.

It bothers me so much that as a society we teach that it's okay and fun to get wasted.

[frankie_the_yankee]

It bothers me so much that as a society we teach that it's okay and fun to get wasted.

1) I don't know that we teach that it's OK. I sure see and hear plenty of stuff saying it's not OK.

2) We certainly do not have to teach people that it's fun. To some people, it is fun.

Just because you have a different opinion about what "fun" is, don't assume that everyone else must share it unless "taught" otherwise.

We agree that what this kid did was stupid. He sure paid the price.

It's hard to say without having been there, but I do find myself wondering if there wasn't some other way out of the situation for the homeowner other than blowing this guy away. Maybe there wasn't. I can't say. But I wonder if there was.

Example: What if the guy had simply made a habit of locking his door, like I do? I live out in the country on a small spread. Nobody is going to come staggering up to my house by accident. And I am almost always carrying, even when I am at home. Yet after dark, I usually lock my doors. I just figure it gives me some more options.

Come to think of it, that's pretty much the same reason as why I carry a gun. More options.

[seamusTX]

It's hard to say without having been there, but I do find myself wondering if there wasn't some other way out of the situation for the homeowner other than blowing this guy away.

You're right about the doors. Mine are always locked.

In these cases where someone shoots an unarmed assailant, I never see mention of pepper spray.

But then, if we can't believe anything we read in the media, it's all just speculation.

I know that police sometimes encouter people who are immune to pepper spray, but it's pretty rare.

- Jim

[govnor]

It bothers me so much that as a society we teach that it's okay and fun to get wasted.

1) I don't know that we teach that it's OK. I sure see and hear plenty of stuff saying it's not OK.

2) We certainly do not have to teach people that it's fun. To some people, it is fun.

Just because you have a different opinion about what "fun" is, don't assume that everyone else must share it unless "taught" otherwise.

We agree that what this kid did was stupid. He sure paid the price.

It's hard to say without having been there, but I do find myself wondering if there wasn't some other way out of the situation for the homeowner other than blowing this guy away. Maybe there wasn't. I can't say. But I wonder if there was.

Example: What if the guy had simply made a habit of locking his door, like I do? I live out in the country on a small spread. Nobody is going to come staggering up to my house by accident. And I am almost always carrying, even when I am at home. Yet after dark, I usually lock my doors. I just figure it gives me some more options.

Come to think of it, that's pretty much the same reason as why I carry a gun. More options.

Hey Frankie, you're not out there having a drink on that compound of yours are you? I wouldn't want your brain to turn off.

[frankie_the_yankee]

Hey Frankie, you're not out there having a drink on that compound of yours are you? I wouldn't want your brain to turn off.

Only when I feel like it.



Ah, "compound"? My name is Frankie, not David Koresh.

[HankB]

In these cases where someone shoots an unarmed assailant, I never see mention of pepper spray.

Some years back, I used pepper spray on an aggressive panhandler when he accosted my mother and myself . . . this incident would not have made the news.

In the case of someone entering your home unwanted and uninvited, there is no ethical or moral reason to even take a chance that the perp is harmless - that puts YOU at risk. Dealing with him in the most effective manner available makes good sense. (Within reason - for example, no sane person would regard the 7 year old from next door who wandered in through an unlocked door to ask if you've seen her missing puppy as a threat!!)

[seamusTX]

In the case of someone entering your home unwanted and uninvited, there is no ethical or moral reason to even take a chance that the perp is harmless - that puts YOU at risk. Dealing with him in the most effective manner available makes good sense.

All things being equal, I would agree. But self-defense can be expensive in terms of legal bills.

(Disclaimer: This is an opinion, not advice.)

- Jim

[Photoman]

While it may seem the homeowner was overzealous in his use of deadly force, we have to remember he had no way of knowing who this intruder was, what kind of threat the intruder posed or what condition the intruders brain was in.

The person that was killed was an intruder. Drunk or not.