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View Full Version : Guns and Self-Defense--Too Much Confidence?



arnisador
04-21-2007, 10:53 AM
Armed Miss America 1944 stops intruder (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070421/ap_on_re_us/brave_beauty_queen)



Venus Ramey, 82, confronted a man on her farm in south-central Kentucky last week after she saw her dog run into a storage building where thieves had previously made off with old farm equipment.


Ramey said the man told her he would leave. "I said, 'Oh, no you won't,' and I shot their tires so they couldn't leave," Ramey said.


She had to balance on her walker as she pulled out a snub-nosed .38-caliber handgun.
Here is a heart-warming story, yet...she should've called the police! She could have stayed in the house and called the cops rather than risking her life. Perhaps the gun makes people too brave...this wasn't self-defense, to my mind, and while it sounds as though she was justified in protecting her property, I wonder if she smart to do so?

Here's some more food for thought:

Child shot during father's gunfight with robbery suspect (http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/16889360.htm)



A 6-year-old girl was shot in the lower abdomen Monday afternoon when she wandered into an apartment hallway during a gunfight between her father and a robbery suspect, police said.
[...]
The girl's father, Glenn A. Mitchell, 23, was arriving home shortly after noon, when a suspect pulled a gun on him and forced his way into the apartment, Scheffel said.


The suspect demanded money. The girl's mother, Dana Raymer, 24, gave him the family's recent income tax refund and he left, police said.
"It looks as though the father of child retrieved a handgun and chased the suspect into the entry way," Scheffel said.Trial begins for teen accused in carjacking
2 boys were in vehicle idling in driveway; father who gave chase was shot in buttocks (http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070313/LOCAL18/703130365/-1/ZONES04)



Ledon Taylor, 18, faces multiple charges in Marion Superior Court, including kidnapping, criminal confinement and attempted murder. He is accused of stealing a car Feb. 26, 2006, from the driveway of a home in the 6600 block of Antelope Lane on the Northwestside.


Tom Ardizone chased the car in the family's sport utility vehicle. He was shot in the buttocks by the carjacker, who fled to a waiting car that also was stolen. The boys, Luke, 4, and Andrew, 7, were not harmed.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again...don't chase the bad guys! Call the cops and let a group of well-organized and well-armed LEOs handle it. If a gun helps you defend yourself, great; if it causes you to go beyond defending yourself and you or some innocent individual gets hurt, that's a net negative. The first story worked out fine; the latter two are cases where the crime victim would have been better off without the gun!

lhommedieu
04-21-2007, 11:40 AM
I agree with your points; however, the man's children were in the car that was being stolen...

How many parents would watch their children being kidnapped and call the police instead of giving chase?

Best,

Steve

arnisador
04-21-2007, 01:11 PM
I agree with your points; however, the man's children were in the car that was being stolen...

How many parents would watch their children being kidnapped and call the police instead of giving chase?

Yes, that one isn't as good an example...I would've chased the car too.

Carol
05-13-2007, 11:09 PM
Unfortunately the Miss America 1944 story isn't on Yahoo anymore but a couple other links:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070420/NEWS01/704200369

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/04/20/brave.beauty.queen.ap/index.html

Note the "she flagged down a passing motorist, who called 911". I'm not convinced she had a working phone at the time of the incident...which would be a necessary prerequisite for someone calling the cops. :D

The middle story, I guess could maybe see as overconfidence but I'd prefer to use the word "irresponsibility". Sad story. Hopefully the child will make a full recovery.

arnisador
07-07-2007, 12:53 AM
Note the "she flagged down a passing motorist, who called 911". I'm not convinced she had a working phone at the time of the incident...which would be a necessary prerequisite for someone calling the cops.

A working phone is one of the best self-defense items ever made!

seobeglobal
07-25-2007, 12:42 AM
yeah
hope the child recovers very well