'Vigilante justice' is better than no justice

WorldNetDaily ^ | December 6, 2002 | Jon E. Dougherty

[madfly]

ping

[TigersEye]

Police responded by saying they would not tolerate "vigilante justice" and would arrest lawbreakers, regardless of which side they're on.

If they are as effective at arresting vigilantes as they are in arresting gangbangers and illegals there shouldn't be too much to worry about.

[LibertarianInExile]

I grew up in Florida, too, and remember the same thing going on even up to the 70s. Here's why you can't shoot them and this idea doesn't necessarily give you the right to--you can't be sure that they actually HAVE or CAN read the signs. But you have warned them as best you know how to and you have set it up to be able to defend yourself. In light of the fact that the 'guides' that move illegals and drugs into the country have shot at Americans on the Americans' own property in Arizona, it is a good idea to do this just to do this to encourage them to stay off of your property.

I'm not saying anyone SHOULD shoot illegals or trespassers. God forbid. You should certainly defend yourself, but holding trespassers at gunpoint is also illegal without a threat to your person. You can't shoot someone just to defend your property--you have to believe your life is in danger, and brandishing a gun at someone without that belief is actually against the law in most places. This is a big part of why you don't hear much about posting and trespassers being shot because they went beyond "NO TRESPASSING" signs any more.

This signage, to me, is a way that a person worried about illegal immigration through their property could help establish that threat--assuming they've posted the signage in a way that any potential trespassers cannot miss. Check out this site for a good synopsis of the general topic and a pretty important case: http://www.newsaic.com/mled.html.

[jeremiah]

What you say is true, there will be plenty of law enforcement available to stop Americans from screwing up the agenda, then they will fade back to DC.

[HiJinx]

Actually, in Arizona, deadly force is authorized to stop a Class II felony. Aggravated Burglary is a Class II felony. A trespasser who has any property of mine in his possession and a weapon of any kind is guilty of Aggravated Burglary.

It may be a stretch to apply that to illegals crossing my property, but maybe not...as soon as one opens the spigot on my water tank or opens a gate, he has my property in his possesion.

The law is on my side. All I would need is a good litigator to convince a jury of that fact...

[Marauder]

I have a cousin who owns and lives on a large tract of land close to - but not on - the border with Mexico. We all go there for a periodic family reunion, and when we're wandering around in the brush, I am never without my trusty military-style (yes, "ugly") rifle, not so much for wetbacks, who by and large are harmless, but drug-runners who are armed and will shoot if they see you. Oh, and rattlesnakes, too.

[Joe Hadenuf]

You tell um Tex!

Tell them we don't have enough bricks for a wall,

Tell um the INS and law enforcement will take care of um,

Tell um vigilante justice will get them thrown in the joint,

Tell um there is no way to stop this invasion and to just roll over,

Tell um they are all racist and bigots (that generally shuts them up),

Tell up we don't have enough man power,

Tell um that the invasion of millions is good for our economy,

Tell um they pay more in taxes than most American's,

Tell they are lazy and that these invaders are just taking jobs they wont do,

Tell um the INS and President Bush are doing a great job and to just shut up,

Tell um all to learn Spanish,

Tell um that all this millions of illegals will soon be voting Republican

Tell um how good tortilla chips taste

Tell um to sit in the ever warming water and enjoy it.

YOU TELL UM TEX!!

[Joe Hadenuf]

Actually, in Arizona, deadly force is authorized to stop a Class II felony. Aggravated Burglary is a Class II felony. A trespasser who has any property of mine in his possession and a weapon of any kind is guilty of Aggravated Burglary.

Boy, I'll bet that big bad law is scarying the hell out of the hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens that are running through the streets of Phoenix.

[HiJinx]

Of course it isn't...because they have people like Pima Countiy's Public Defender Isabel Garcia lying to them about what the law really says.

The point is, the law is on my side regardless of whether they know about it (or believe it).

A vigilante is judge, jury, and executioner. Until Simcox's group or the Barnett's perform those tasks, (and they never will) they are not vigilantes. This is just another example of people with a Liberal agenda painting the picture they want the masses to see.

[EBUCK]

the DEA/ATF are too busy arresting lawful gun owners and pot smokers to defend the border.

A lot more profit in those enterprises, than in all of their other duties combined!

EBUCK

[Joe Hadenuf]

Agree....

[American in Israel]

Just my guess, it bears watching.

[Rytwyng]

ping

[B4Ranch]

I believe in giving ample chance, then warning of inaction to elected officials with "these" results if inaction continues, then removal from authority of unresponsive officials, then militia action.

[Paulie]

"Suddenly they will have plenty of manpower and a very strong lack of tolerance to what Americans want to do vs what illegal aliens want to do"

Sadly, methinks you are correct.

[Rollee]

I'd strongly suggest that the people on the borders in this vigilante mood post signs that say in English and Spanish something along the lines of "DANGER...

Don't forget Arabic and what ever language they speak in Iraq, Iran, etc.

[LibertarianInExile]

But I'm SURE that no illegal immigrants speak any language other than Spanish. Plus, this new super-duper Homeland Security Act will prevent any Islamists from getting in.

[Morrigan]

This article talks about vigilante justice as if it is a bad thing. Well, to my recollection, many "vigilantes" got justice for real victims when the courts or gov't refused to do it themselves.

Does anyone remember that case of a child molester getting shot to death? This molester kidnapped a young boy, and the boy's dad hid out at an airport and waited until the police went by with the molester. Then the boy's dad turned around and shot the molester dead. Does anyone remember that?

That boy's dad was called a "vigilante". But I think he did the right thing. I would probably have done it too. So I think that the "vigilantes" in the border states should just keep keepin' on.