Posted on 07/03/2008 5:15:19 AM PDT by marktwain
Not even a week after the Supreme Court decided that gun bans are unconstitutional, a man accused of shooting to death two burglars who were robbing his neighbor's home has been set free despite the viciousness of his act.
If you'll remember the story, Joe Horn, a 61-year-old Pasadena, Tex., resident spotted two burglars breaking into his neighbor's home in Nov. 2007. He dialed 911, but despite being warned to stay in his home, he declared that he has a right to use deadly force to defend his neighbor's property and that he was going to confront the robbers.
He does just that and then shoots them in their backs, killing them. A huge controversy ensued over whether he should stand trial in the deaths of do RiascosDiego Ortiz, 30, and Hernan Torres, 38, both Columbian immigrants.
Yesterday, a grand jury cleared him of all wrongdoing. Score another one for the gun nuts.
On Tuesday, family and activists called the killing "premeditated murder." ...
I'm not defending the two men who robbed the neighbor's home of about $2,000 in jewelry and cash. But was this worth their lives? These men were not armed, and they posed no threat to Horn, although he claims that they came into his yard.
But if you hear the 911 tapes, Horn was warned to stay in his home and let the police handle the issue. He ignored the dispatcher's orders and if you listen to the tapes you'll see that he had every intention of killing those men.
Even though Horn has expressed regret over the incident, there are supporters who swear Horn should have sawed the men's heads off and impaled them on a lamppost at the edge of his driveway. These are the people who I lose sleep over.
These are the people who love guns far more than they love anything else and are waiting for their chance to kill someone, and far too often they are looking for a nonwhite in order to get their chance. For example, the 1992 killing of Yoshihiro Hattori, a 16-year-old Japanese exchange student in Baton Rouge, La., who simply rang the wrong doorbell when looking for a Halloween party. The homeowner, Rodney Peairs, opened fire on Hattori, mortally wounding him. Peairs was later acquitted under a Louisiana law, similar to one in Texas that allows people to shoot burglars if they feel threatened.
Here's my question: If people like Horn and Peairs -- who are white -- can shoot people they feel threatened by, why is it that John White, a Long Island, N.Y., man -- who is black -- gets a jail term for defending his home when he thought a mob was coming to harm his son, which also resulted in a death.
None of the losses of life are right. The deaths are senseless, and could have been avoided if cooler heads had prevailed. But in Horn's case, he had no intention of calming down. He took the law into his own hands and now, with a Supreme Court gun decision having just passed, every firearm freak in the country will feel emboldened.
Well, here's what I have to say to them: a person who would shoot someone because they feel a gun empowers them is a sociopath with a murderous mentality. It has nothing to do with self defense, it is the mark of a weak person who would feel castrated without having a gun somewhere in their vicinity.
Point blank: If you actually love your gun, you're a punk. It takes a man to preserve life. It takes a weakling to snuff it out.
Horn, by his own admission, is an eternal victim of his weak moment.
Aren’t LIEberals all about a woman’s CHOICE?
The illegal alien thugs made a choice...they chose RETRO-ACTIVE ABORTION!
Seems to me the racist angle is the fault of the perps. They should have robbed a black man's home. That way, if he'd shot them, it wouldn't have been racist.
Yes, you are.
But was this worth their lives?
They knew that there was a risk that they would be shot while committing this crime. They chose to do it anyway. Ergo, they did think it was worth their lives. Who am I to gainsay them on that point?
yes we would, they would be the ones holding the vigils outside the prison, protesting the death sentences imposed on those criminals, at the time justice is to be netted out.
i would not shoot someone who was running away.
but having said that, if you are a crook in texas, i guess you could always decide to leave the state rather than get shot if you dont like the law. so its the crooks call, isnt it?
My thoughts exactly.
I've been the victim of both violent and property crimes. I have no sympathy for those that would poach the lives and property of honest, hard-working citizens.
I can’t see that the lives of these 2 criminals had any worth at all and I am glad, for the selfish reason that I live in Houston, that they are gone. But I would not have done what Joe Horn did. From listening to the tapes (multiple times) he wanted to kill them. I would not have wanted the taking of their lives to be on my conscience and they would have had to be in MY house threatening me, before I pulled the trigger. I think Joe Horn is a good man, who was caught up in the moment and it appears he now regrets what he did.
Exactly, John White was unfortunate enough to live in a state governed for decades by brain-ead liberals
Precisely right and clearly stated. Thank you.
Cry me a river, Madison Gray.
That is a great sign! I have SECURITY DOG signs all around my fence and I know for a fact that they are respected.
Because of the racist gun laws in New York.
you servile elitist idiot
He didn’t shoot them on his neighbor’s property, he shot them when they came on to his.
If Horn had been unarmed and confronted the two or even left his home to get a better description of the two or license number of their vehicle and been seen by them, he would have reason to fear for his life. As a grand juror on this case I would have had no problem not delivering an indictment. Justice was well served by his actions.
155th trimester? meh... if it keeps ‘em from walking off with the DVD player and Grandma’s fine silverware...
“.....It takes a man to preserve life. It takes a weakling to snuff it out.....”
I wonder if he would say the same about an abortion doctor?
I do not believe that he would, but Liberals a/k/a communists never defend the innocent. But are always willing to protect the guilty.
AS far as I am concerned Joe Horn is a hero.
Self defense trumps burglary.
Not armed? 2 against 1 is not good odds for an old man.
No threat? How does the reporter know?
The author doesn't seem to grasp that living in a republic means that it is for the citizens of Texas to answer that question - not him.
The operative law allows the use of deadly force to protect property. That's why the grand jury no-billed the shooter.
BUT, it also needs to be recognized that no person has any "property rights" if one cannot defend one's property (or even the neighbor's) against theft. Not all objects are replaceable - especially when it comes to jewelry, art, etc. When a burglar takes it upon himself to appropriate someone else's things, the risk of death should be just another occupational hazard IMO.
The author of this article forgets the most important thing... That the two decedents chose to burgle, deliberately risking their lives in the state of Texas for $2000 in cash plus jewelry. The shooter just delivered their past-due order.
“These men were not armed, and they posed no threat to Horn”
This is what is bogus. Two young men versus one older person is always a threat. Anyone can be a threat to any other person at anytime. Being unarmed does not make you unable to beat someone to death just as easy as shooting or stabbing them.
If you are unarmed and confront someone who is you woke up the wrong dog.
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