Posted by NCWayne on May 31, 2012 at 07:24:04 from (69.40.232.132):
In Reply to: OT/this is just wrong posted by Nancy Howell on May 31, 2012 at 06:31:08:
As much as I'm pro Second Amendment and approve of the castle doctrine, I've got to say I side with the police on ths one as far as the guy being wrong in doing what he did. Even so I believe the part about locking the guy up was going a bit too far.
I say I agree with the cops because someone on the other side of a fence from you, and not on your property, is not considered an immediate threat to you at all. For all the guy knew the noise they heard could have been a drunk headed home bouncing against the fence because he couldn't stand up straight, a dog trying to dig under, etc, etc. In other words the guy more than likely had no idea what was on the other side of the fence and therefore had no real reason to feel like he was in any immediate danger, especially if he was carrying a firearm, without something more substantial than the sound of someone/something on the other side of a fance to base hus feelings on. Had someone come over, or through the fence either one, and made hostile advances on the guy, then he would have had every right to shoot, and if properly trained with the weapon plenty of time to do so before he would have been in 'immediate' danger. Even then, the simple act of stating loudly and clearly that you are armed, followed by the sound of a hammer cocking, a slide being racked, etc, would more than likely have been all the deterent the guy needed to prevent even that scenerio from happening as most crooks do not want to deal with someone who is armed and therfore not an easy target.
As far as firing the weapon into the ground, it was nothing more than a wasted shot that, so it seems, was in violation of a city ordinance banning the discharge of a firearm within city limits. That being the case the guy was wrong on two accounts. The first is that if your going to fire your weapon in "self defense" you'd better be aiming it at the object you fear because castle doctrines don't allow for 'warning shots'but do allow for shots fired with the purpose of actually protecting your life. Not to mention safe handling practices for a firearm are clear about not firing your weapon until your on target and know 110% sure what your target is. The ground is not really a valid target in this case (althouhg it is better than firing into the air). That said firing at the ground, expecially at night, the guy had no way of knowing wether the bullet would lodge in the dirt or strike a rock and wind up in a neighbors house. So, firing into the ground did nothing but cause him to break a law designed to protect others in the community from irresponsible gun owners doing something stupid that gives the rest of us a bad name.
Granted I will say that there is a fine line sometimes between right and wrong when it comes to defending yourself in a case like this. Unfortunately I think the guy actually did use a bit of poor judgment in this case. I think he should have probably been given a fine, etc to make him think about his actions the next time, but I think jail time was a bit much.
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