looks like the one on the left could prolly clean up OK... but the one on the right, not
Posted on 09/17/2012 7:07:29 PM PDT by marktwain
An Oklahoma gun owner shot and killed an intruder who broke into his home last Thursday. Yeah, yeah, we know – you’ve heard this story and stories just like it a thousand times before. This one’s a little bit different though, because this time the would-be thief was a woman.
The burglar in question was 50-year-old Mary Kathleen Sanders, but she also brought along two accomplices, 26-year-old Misty Dawn Puskaric and 37-year-old Starr Michelle Timmons. According to reports, Sanders had previously worked for the homeowner and therefore knew that he was disabled.
But just because somebody is disabled doesn’t mean that he can’t put up a fight -- especially when he's got a gun in his hand.
According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the man was awaken by the three suspects as they burglarized his home. At some point between waking up and confronting the would-be robbers, he grabbed his gun. The homeowner shot and killed Sanders just outside of his home, prompting Puskaric and Timmons to flee the scene. The two women were later arrested by authorities and are being charged with first-degree burglary.
It isn’t very often that you hear about a group of women committing a crime against men. It’s kind of surprising considering the fact that they could probably get away with it more easily. Studies have shown that people automatically trust women more than men.
It’s difficult to imagine how social convention might affect a gun owner’s decision to pull (or not pull) the trigger. A popular societal rule is you’re not supposed to hit a girl, so perhaps some think that translates as you’re not supposed to shoot a girl either. Whoever made that rule probably didn’t have home invasions in mind, though.
It makes you wonder: what types of criminals would make you hesitate? You wouldn’t have to think twice about shooting a huge guy with a knife, but what if you walked downstairs at two in the morning to find a woman stealing your stuff? What if the robber is obviously a teenager? Would you still pull the trigger then?
The homeowner in this story was put in a tough situation. When you’re disabled or put at a major physical disadvantage, it’s probably safer to shoot your attacker and ask questions later. Things get a little bit fuzzier if the homeowner has a marked physical advantage over the intruder. In that case it might just be better to hold the criminal at gun point and wait for the authorities.
What do our readers think? Would the age or gender of a burglar affect whether or not you pull the trigger, or is “intruder” the only descriptor that matters when it comes to issues of self-defense?
“...but what if you walked downstairs at two in the morning to find a woman stealing your stuff? What if the robber is obviously a teenager? Would you still pull the trigger then?”
Hasta la vista, baby?
I would feel bad killing anyone, second guess could I have done this or should I have done that. I know it is often the right thing to do in this situation, but I would definitely be traumatized.
It would make it worse if it were a younger teen, like 13/14, because I’d figure they either had been put up to it or else had no idea of the risk they were taking. A kid is a kid, and I’d think maybe he’d have straightened up after a while, and now had no chance to do so.
That doesn’t mean it’s wrong to do. I’m just saying it would make me very sad.
looks like the one on the left could prolly clean up OK... but the one on the right, not
A moose once bugled at my sister.
I know a couple of teenagers that go 6ft 2 and 250 lbs. I also have seen some hardened criminals hat barely go 5 ft. and 150 lbs. If they are committing a crime and I fear for my life, they are fair game.
Two words: Castle Doctrine.
Two more words: Weapons Free!
I suspect more likely they are just run of the mill hard up scum.
There you did it... I gotta drag out the chupacabra story... I should save this on the hard disk so I don't have to type it every time, but it sometimes it gets better....
I was running a crew cutting pines for firewood at about 7K ft in northern New Mexico mountains, and we started early. Frijoles y kava was way before sunup. By military tactical twilight and before sunrise, we were on the mountain, cutting down trees, bucking logs, singing Monty Python songs...
A mist filled the hollow that we were working in, as it was early fall.
The elks were.... sexually frustrated....
Did I mention that my crew didn't speak a word of english?
We took a break to sharpen blades, gas up, etc... and in the distance... an elk, a lonely, horny elk, bugled...
I cocked my head to one side as if to listen better, nodded my head sagely, and said "Chupacabra".
We were scheduled to be off the mountain by 1500. We had all the wood cut and loaded by 1100.
Those guys never worked for me again.
/johnny
And while you're standing there thinking about it, the one you didn't see will knife you in the back.
Those guys never worked for me again.
I don’t often laugh....You and A&W Root Beer may owe me a replaacement laaptoup couympyutr,,,[`
That story fits classic adventure fiction from the 30’s! (as a starting lead)
That reminds me of an interesting story about California Condors, who after a successful breeding program were released in the mountains of central California. Soon they were also in northwestern Arizona, and some made it down to Baja, Mexico. Some of the Condors have been sighted over 200 miles away in Colorado and Wyoming, though are believed to have returned home.
However, though not really under observation by the Condor program, northern Mexico has some mountains as well, and, after a few years, in Texas there were several, unconfirmed, of course, reports of “Pterodactyls”.
Adults have a 3m (9.8ft) wingspan.
Actually, I think it has to do with a man being more dangerous than a woman.
We’re bigger, and we’re wired differently - violence is a more acceptable way to resolve an issue.
More likely she was an addict, got fired, and thought her former employer would be an easy score.
One of the first things police officers are told in the academy is that a small person with a gun or knife will kill you just as dead as a big person. I have no doubt that they would have killed the guy if he hadn't opened fire first. The ex-employee couldn't take the chance of being recognized.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.