TexasCHLforum.com

People keep referring to the value of human life versus property but that is not the true trade off here. The real trade-off is the loss of security in your person and home as well as our loss of human dignity. When we allow these scumbags to enter our property, break in and steal our possessions without fear of being confronted or shot in the process of committing a crime while we cower inside and call the police, they are not simply taking our property but also our self-respect and natural right to be secure in our homes. This is much more than simple theft it degrades us as human beings and instills the idea that some piece of filth has the right to be secure that they won't be killed while committing a crime but we do not have the right to guarantee our own security by defending our homestead with force.

People forget how they love to call the people in other nations victims because they are stripped of the right to bear arms in defense of themselves and their homes. In the same breath they are willing to strip themselves and their neighbors of the right to be secure in their homes and defend their property because of some distorted vies of the value of human life. Yes, life is precious, but the right to live that life happily and secure without fear of being victimized without the right to prevent being a victim ultimately means living an existence that is somehow less than human.

Everyone has the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness as long as they don't seek those at the expense of the security and dignity of others. Criminals do not only steal our possessions, they also steal our sense of security and safety, which are basic human rights. The moment a criminal chooses to commit an act against a citizen, they lose their right to be secure in their act even thought he sheep of the world appear to be hell bent on guaranteeing them more rights than an honest citizen would have. It's warped and twisted thinking that has gotten us to this point in our history and it is about time that people used a little common sense and realized that the only party in this transaction who should be living in fear is the criminal. They are the one who should fear being shot and they are the ones who should learn the value of human life and personal dignity and stop terrorizing people in their homes all the while expecting to get away without a scratch.

What I do know is that the moment some human refuse hops my fence with intent to illegally enter my home, regardless of time of day, they may or may not get a verbal warning before I fire my weapon. I also know that if I am working a photo shoot and I catch someone stealing the tools of my trade (which often consist of a bag of gear costing $20 - $30K plus the memories of a family that I have recorded) I will stop them with whatever force necessary. I will not live my life as a victim and I will choose to value my own human life, dignity and security over that of some piece of filth that is too damn lazy or evil to live an honest life.

ScubaSigGuy wrote:Shooting victim?

Interesting terminology. Personally I would have gotten a good description if possible and called 911. Tools for a life is not much of a trade in my book. Especially since it was a detached shed being robbed. The homeowner while legally protected, and rightfully so, could have avoided putting himself in a situation where he had to pull the trigger. Tools, cars, etc... can be replaced and I am not willing to jeapardize my freedom for the protection of material objects. Now had the thief entered or attempted to enter his home that's a whole different story. I am sure that many will not agree and that's OK.

Although this is legally a justified shooting it's hard to say it's a good shoot. It's never good to have to take a life, regardless of the situation.
I've thought a lot about this lately since this seems to be happening more often.

Anyway just my opinion for what it's worth

I have to say that I disagree with this line of thinking. We are talking about a criminal that hops your fence, breaks into your property and is stealing from you. You have the right to stop them in the act and that is what the homeowner did. The homeowner is not at fault for defending his property. The robber is at fault for being stupid enough to commit a crime in the first place and even more so for continuing to move toward the homeowner after repeated warnings to stop.

What really gets me is that we have had so many posts on this board where people tell of robberies in which the police are unable or unwilling to get back the person's property. I'm not going to bother searching for the particular post, but one that sticks out is the one in which items were stolen from a truck and the owner actually tracked the stolen goods to the thief’s back yard, called the police and they refused to act. People were livid that the police would not act even thought he stolen items were in plain sight. But I guess that the property owner should just write off their possessions since they are not justified in stopping the robber in the act and the authorities won't take action against the criminal.

We are told over and over again that it is not the responsibility of the police to protect us or our property and yet people still think that a homeowner is wrong in doing so themselves. The simple truth is that it is our responsibility alone to protect our person and property and that is exactly what this homeowner did. There is no justification in faulting him for doing exactly what is his right to do. The moment we start telling people that they don't have the right to stop a robber from stealing from them or defend their own lives, we are stripping those same people of what makes them human. We have the right to preserve our persons and our property. Everything that a criminal steals from us represents a piece of our life that we traded to an employer so that we could possess it. What could be more vile that stealing those things from any of us that we worked and traded a portion of that very small interval of time that we have on this earth. I for one, think that the homeowner was more than justified in shooting this waste of flesh.