Quote :

"if someone breaks into my place I'm gonna let him take everything and do what he wants with my family, I'll wait until the cops show up, they'll save me!!!"

thats exactly what i said. at no point in this thread did i outline situations where i thought it acceptible for the old man to shoot the intruder. at no point did i outline what i thought to be the proper course of action INCLUDING a firearm in the equation.

go back to SB, at least you read the thread there.

Quote :

" Whether made because they're too stupid to think about the consequences is irellevant, it's not a mistake."

we have laws protecting minors for a variety of reasons, one being that they are considered too stupid/young to consider the consequences. best start to campaign against some other laws if you want to pull that card.

Quote :

"I agree that once he was driving away he was no longer a threat, but personaly, until you are off my property, running away from me doesn't make you any less of a threat, for all I know you're going to get the gun you left in the car, or you're just seeking some cover to fire back from."

he was driving away. not reaching into the car, not going towards the car, driving away.

Quote :

"WTF? What does deciminalizing drugs have to do with anything? And yes, go to jail for 3 fuckups, you had TWO other chances to not fuckup AGAIN. It's not an accident when it happens 3 times."

Quote :

"YES HE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER I MEAN WHAT THE FUCK"

thats fine, im not a big fan of druggies, but i think it is an apt comparison.

some guy holding a stash a few times VS a kid just being a dumbass (hell id say small theft could fall in here too). sure they shouldnt be doing it, but do you think life in prison in or death is the proper punishment for those acts?

[Edited on September 21, 2006 at 5:49 PM. Reason : i dont wanna get too much into mandatory minimum sentences, but it fits my general point]

9/21/2006 5:45:02 PM

Quote :

"we have laws protecting minors for a variety of reasons, one being that they are considered too stupid/young to consider the consequences. best start to campaign against some other laws if you want to pull that card. "

Yeah, but even a 6 year old can tell you stealing is wrong. If you make it to 14 without knowing that breaking into someone's home is not only wrong but could get you seriously fucked up is probably not going to live past 20 anyway. I think we do a great disservice by pretending a highschool kid can't or doesn't know right from wrong for something like breaking and entering and not expecting them to either.

When some punk kid tries to mug an old guy in the park and gets shot no one (ok very few people) complain, why is the wrongness of theft that much more of a mental leap.

Quote :

"he was driving away. not reaching into the car, not going towards the car, driving away. "

Like I said, once he was he was no longer a threat.

9/21/2006 9:05:12 PM

to reiterate my position:

Quote :

"-without knowing every detail, i think that it's not only illegal, but wrong. that said, i don't really care all that much. yeah, the old guy shouldn't have shot him, but if that little shit hadn't been trying to break in, it wouldn't have happened."

i can't believe the lack of sensibility in this thread. Crazy positions have been taken by both sides, but overwhelmingly more by those saying that it should be perfectly ok to kill someone who's running away from you. some of the ways you people are rationalizing it are ridiculous.

again, i don't feel too sorry for the kid, and i don't think they old man should be locked away for attempted murder, but I think he should be punished SOME. the kid should be punished, too (in addition to the bullet he took).

9/21/2006 9:16:44 PM

im glad some pro-gun people from SB are willing to agree on this. i mean, im sure i've said one or two things on the extreme side, but for the most part i think i've been plenty fair/rational.

and baka, my point wasnt that a 14 year old wouldnt know it is wrong, but moreso that they dont think through the consequences. they most certainly should be punished, but i find death (if someone were to successfully get them as suggested by many here) is a bit extreme, kid or otherwise.

mugging is a violent, up-close act of stealing. sneaking into someones house is a bit different. if he were to engage the old man besides accidentally encountering him, id feel a bit different. from the sounds of it, however, he saw him and tried to get the fuck out.


[Edited on September 21, 2006 at 10:45 PM. Reason : .]

9/21/2006 10:41:06 PM

i generally wouldn't have a problem with him shooting him if he were in the house or in the process of breaking in. as it stands, i have only a limited amount of sympathy for the kid or contempt for the homeowner, but I'm not about to sit here and say that it's reasonable to shoot a kid in the back when he's in his car and driving away, and then try to justify it with "BUT HE MIGHT COME BACK!"

fine, if he comes back, kill him then. in the meantime, call the cops and keep a watchful eye.

9/22/2006 1:07:00 AM

Quote :

"bleeding-heart commie democrats will cry [attempted?] murder, though...."

Because all democrats are communist, and they'd all say the same thing.
I would have done the same thing, I'm sure.

9/22/2006 1:15:19 AM