more spry old people or why I am moveing to Georgia

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Vaskez - I agree it is unfortunate that a 17 yr old boy was killed and his brother wounded. It is even more unfortunate that two teenage boys and their girlfriend decided to rob the store in the first place. It's sad that they chose to break the law and that they were foolish enough to choose a store whose owner was known to kill people that try to rob him. I also agree that it would have been better if he had just wounded both boys rather than killing one....but do you think the two teenagers would have worried about killing him if they had gotten a chance to shoot first? Most likely not.

As for your example of gun ownership sending us back to the Wild West, it simply has not happened. That's because there are now laws that everyone has to follow - or they pay the consequences. The Wild West was "wild" because it was mostly a lawless land where justice and punishment were largely left up to the individuals involved.

Grojlach - I agree with you that human life is more valuable than property but I also agree with the store owner. Why should he just sit there and watch 3 young kids steal from him? This is how he makes his living and he has to pay for the items he puts in his store. Then he is supposed to just stand by idly and let 3 kids come in and help themselves to whatever they want? He could have fired a "warning shot" to scare the kids off like he did to the robber that took his money and wedding ring. Maybe that would have worked. Then again, our youth today seem to have a "payback mentality". Maybe he would have scared them off, but there is a possibility that - once they got away and got over thier initial fright - they would have become angry and embarassed about being "scared off" and would have come back to the store "pay the old man back".

The three most important points to remember in this incident are:
1) The kids chose to break the law and rob the store on thier own. Nobody made them do it.
2) In Georgia, store owners are allowed to use "deadly force" to protect themselves and thier wares.
3) This particular store owner had used "deadly force" before to kill a would-be robber.

The bottom line is that this was just a very bad decision on the part of the teenagers, and the 17 yr old boy payed the ultimate price for his foolishness.

[Epona]

I find it disturbing that so many people think that money is more important than the life of another human being.

If it were me I would sit quietly and let them take the money, because I could not in all honesty live with myself if I took another's life to protect a material posession.

[Donut]

Originally posted by Epona: I find it disturbing that so many people think that money is more important than the life of another human being. If it were me I would sit quietly and let them take the money, because I could not in all honesty live with myself if I took another's life to protect a material posession.

If a shop owner can kill to protect his wares then human life is not worth a can of beans.

[realbinky]

Good for the old man. Though, I shouldn't call him old. It's not for the material goods, it is his livelihood. This is his living, his store. I don't know if I could do it, I'd probably be too scared, but if I could, I would. I don't like the fact that the kids died, but he was old enough to know the score. If you outlaw guns, only the outlaws will have guns. I don't own any, but I 100% support the right. And I am a VERY good shot, with friends' guns when target shooting.

[The Hunter of Jahanna]

If a shop owner can kill to protect his wares then human life is not worth a can of beans.

I have to disagree, Donut. If you have to be afraid of protecting yourself, your family and your things then life isnt worth living. What good is haveing a business and trying to make something of yourself if people can just waltz right in and take what ever they want money included.

Originally posted by Vaskez: Yeah it does sound like a great idea actually. Grojlach is right that human life is more important than money. If guns were allowed then we would go back to a Wild West situation where people were shot every day over card games. Yeah, right, that's preferrable to only criminals having guns. Duh. I don't know statistics but I bet that far more people per population die in the USA than UK from gunshots. What we really need is phasors that only have stun mode like in Star Trek but without the power setting [/QB]

Naaa stun settings let the guy live so he can sue you later. if you are going to stop a crime, your best bet is to kill the perp, otherwise while he is in jail he will get a law degree and sue you for defamation of character. (this has happened by the way)

Originally posted by Epona: I find it disturbing that so many people think that money is more important than the life of another human being. If it were me I would sit quietly and let them take the money, because I could not in all honesty live with myself if I took another's life to protect a material posession.

I find it hard to believe as an ethical headonist that you find it ok, to allow yourself to be victimized without fighting back...up to and including deadly force. What if an unethical headonist decides to use you as a sex toy? why should he have to fear for his life? Everyone should have the right to defend their life, their property and their family fromt he depredations of others.

[Timber Loftis]

Originally posted by Donut: quote: Originally posted by Epona: I find it disturbing that so many people think that money is more important than the life of another human being. If it were me I would sit quietly and let them take the money, because I could not in all honesty live with myself if I took another's life to protect a material posession.

If a shop owner can kill to protect his wares then human life is not worth a can of beans. [/QUOTE]When you take a gun into an establishment with the intent of robbery, you have determined your own life's worth. If you mix guns and robbery, you chose whether you do it for the till in a convenience store register, the vault in a bank, or the Ho-Ho's in aisle 2. The would-be robber chose how much his life was worth, all the old man did was defend his livelihood.

[Larry_OHF]

I agree with what happened.

I put it this way. If I wake up one night to find a man or woman sneakig around in my house...I am not going to ask him to pull up a chair and talk it out with me over a cup of hot chocolate to determine his reasoning. I am not going to scream at the top of my lungs for somebody to help me, in hopes that he'll leave me and my family alone. I am not going to value his life over a rat if I feel for one minute that my beloved wife and baby are in harm's path.

If a guy breaks in, and gets caught in the act...I am going to assume that he will try to ensure a clean get-away by silencing my ability to identify him. Karen does not allow me to have a gun...but I will tell ya right now that my 17" blade under my side of the matress will be tasting his blood. I will stop stabbing and slashing if and when he gets out the door and into the yard.

[Horatio]

There was an incident here in Britain a few years back. I can't remember some of the story, and if anyone could correct me I'd be happy, but from what I can remember, a man broke into a farm house and stole some stuff. The farmer came out with a gun and shot the man who was running away. The thief died, and the farmer was sent to jail.

Another story. A father was in his house at night, with his 10 year old daughter upstairs asleep. Three people banged at the door, threatening to kill everyone inside. Bear in mind that the father did NOT know these people, and that there was no reason for the attack. Anyway, the three men are banging at the door, trying to brake it down. The father is holding the door back, and his daughter is on the stairs crying while these men are still threating to kill them both. The father grabs a knife and pokes it through the letter box. Two of the men ran off, the third was stabbed and killed from the knife. This man was also sent to prison