Brazen home-invasion robberies stir Jupiter Farms residents to action
JUPITER FARMS — A trio of would-be robbers who shuffled up a front yard on Alexander Run with a pump-action shotgun last week had the misfortune of confronting an armed homeowner in the driveway. He stared them down until they ran off.
But if they had tried one of the neighbors instead in the rural Jupiter Farms enclave, they might not have had much better luck. In the house next door lives a Vietnam veteran with heavy firepower in his bedroom. At the two houses across the street, the homeowners were packing heat too.
Okay, silly expression ("packing heat"? Newsie, please...) aside, this is a pretty good story. Read the whole thing - there's only the faintest hint of PSH in the entire article (the part about "vigilantes" - again, newsie, please - people defending themselves against armed robbers are not vigilantes!). One can only imagine the tone had this been published in the Globe ("ZOMG! EVIL RETHUGLICANS WANT TO KILL PEOPLE OF COLOR!, IMMIGRANTS"). The tone is not openly hostile to folks owning guns, which is refreshing in and of itself.
What bothers me most (and this has little to do with the article other than having been mentioned) is the whole concept of the "Castle Doctrine". The idea that we need to have laws passed saying that if you kill someone who has invaded your house it's not a prosecutable offense is, quite frankly, offensive to me. We should not need a law affirming a basic human right - the right to be safe from molestation in what should be the safest of sanctuaries, our own homes. This goes hand-in-hand with the abhorrent idea of a "duty to retreat" - eff you, someone threatens me or mine, I shouldn't have to do anything other than front sight, press...
We're making strides in the 2A battle, and that's a good thing. We're dragging guns and gun ownership back into the mainstream after decades of being hidden away in the back of the closet, and more and more people are starting to get into the shooting sports, concealed carry, and home defense arenas. Guns are less of a stigma now than pretty much at any point in my memory, albeit with certain (liberal) pockets of exception (mainly CA, IL, and Northeast). While it's good to see the second amendment brought back from the abyss, maybe it's time to want more...
Maybe it's time we broadened the fight to self-defense in general...
That is all.
1 comment:
I live for the day when it's newsworthy that a house was found where the owners were not armed.
I want people without guns treated like they drive their newborn around without a car seat.
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