I’m confused!

[nighthawk2099]

+1 Agreed.

It's one thing to kill someone in defense of your life or the life of others, but there is already too much killing over property. Yeah, I worked hard for what I own, but like Deacon51 said, that's what insurance is for. There is no value comparison between property and a person's life.

On the other hand, if said bad guy threatens my life (put a gun in my face, etc.) in the process of taking said property, that's a different story. At that point, the act has escalated from petty theft to armed robbery. I would kill based on the threat to my life, but not the theft of the property.

Think of it this way, if the person were to be caught and tried, what is the max penalty they would get (in a perfect world). I don't think the death penalty has ever been handed down to a person charged with Grand Larceny (assuming they didn't kill/injure someone in the process).

 

[m4strmind]

i think where this argument is going is a bit silly.

anybody trying to rob you is going to be using force. I dont see a confrontation going like this:

"GIMMIE YOUR WALLET"
"no."
"OK MAYBE THE NEXT GUY WILL BE MORE CORPORATIVE!!!!!"

Same thing, goes with said rims.

if anybody sees anybody messing with their property they are going to try to stop them.
Hopefully the thief would just run away and stop.
However if you do try to stop someone from damaging/stealing your property you need to be prepared for them to fight back.

I cant say I agree with the mentality that if someone wants to steal from me that i should just hide in my house and let them. Not saying i agree with running out of the house guns blazing either.

 

[Deacon51]

I cant say I agree with the mentality that if someone wants to steal from me that i should just hide in my house and let them.

That's not what I'm saying at all. Just that deadly force is the LAST resort, not the first. If someone was messing with my truck and I saw it, I would confront them, if at home I would do so armed. BUT, if they resisted my demands and approached me in a threatening manner, I would first toss them the key's before opening fire.

 

[SamW]

And the circle comes around. Felons shouldn't have any rights!

 

[BenL]

That's not what I'm saying at all. Just that deadly force is the LAST resort, not the first. If someone was messing with my truck and I saw it, I would confront them, if at home I would do so armed. BUT, if they resisted my demands and approached me in a threatening manner, I would first toss them the key's before opening fire.

What if someone is in your home? Would you just stay up stairs in your bedroom, armed, and hope the intruder down stairs just takes what he wants, and leaves, or would you "clear the house"? (Just curious... I'm not sure what I would do. I would think I'd stay put and wait for police, but in that kind of stressful situation, it's hard to say what you'd actually do.)

 

[ThePhantomPatriot]

well being a victim of two crimes committed on my property i would have stepped in if i couldve.

Both happened late at night when everyone was sleeping.
1. a nieghborhood kid stole our dirtbikes/atvs, and also had a molotov cocktail ready, he had torched a truck down the street the previous week and the cops didnt realise that there was glass melted to the pavement, and my stepdad pointed that out to the cops and they reported it. The kid got nailed w/ attempted arson and i think grand larceny. we got our stuff back too.
2. some punk kicked in my car.

I would not have used deadly force over property, I would probably defend it and hold off the person til the cops come, but not kill. Although if someone broke into my house it would be another story. I came home one night and all the doors were open in the house and no one was home. That was kinda strange so i snuck up to my room in the dark, loaded the shotgun and proceeded to search every room. I had such an adrenaline rush bc i thought someone was hiding in my house. Once i searched every room i didnt find anyone and realised nothing was missing i called my parents and they said they accidentally left w/ the front and back door unlocked and open. What a relief. I wouldn't necessarily use deadly force in my house, but I probably wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger. I see it as outside the house is fair game, inside is private and the crook risks his life. Plus w/ all the recent break-in/armed robberies lately it opens your eyes.

 

[Deacon51]

What if someone is in your home? Would you just stay up stairs in your bedroom, armed, and hope the intruder down stairs just takes what he wants, and leaves, or would you "clear the house"? (Just curious... I'm not sure what I would do. I would think I'd stay put and wait for police, but in that kind of stressful situation, it's hard to say what you'd actually do.)

This is something I have thought about a lot, even rehearsed.

Assuming I was able to huddle the wife and kids into the closet, I would allow them free run of the house wile I waited for police, in the event the tried to enter the closet I would not hesitate to fire.

The scenario in my mind is as follows. I live in a single story home with my bed room on one end and the kids on the other. I keep a XD9 loaded with Gold Dots on the night stand and now a 20 Gage Cruiser in the master bed room closet. The idea is that IF someone was attempting to make a forced entry I would use the XD to get to the kids, leaving my wife in with the shot gun. If the BG still had not gained entry, I would escort the kids back to the closet, if the BG has gained entry I would secure the hallway leading to the kids rooms and the wife would be left on her own with the 20 gage. (Don't worry, she knows how and when to use it)

I would definitely try and warn the BG that I was armed and that his best course of action would be to flee.

Now, if the BG gets between me and my kids, I will clear my path, with lethal force, and without warning. In other words, yes they can have the house, as long as I'm sure there is not threat to me or my family.

 

[Simon Yu]

What if someone is in your home? Would you just stay up stairs in your bedroom, armed, and hope the intruder down stairs just takes what he wants, and leaves, or would you "clear the house"? (Just curious... I'm not sure what I would do. I would think I'd stay put and wait for police, but in that kind of stressful situation, it's hard to say what you'd actually do.)

People who clear buildings as their job seem to have no love of it and that factors into my thinking. While I might investigate a bit to figure out if there's a bipedal intruder downstairs as opposed to something that runs on all four legs or just a pile of crap falling over, if I KNOW that there's an intruder my first priority is calling the police and letting them take care of it as long as I don't come into contact with the perp. Not like I get paid for taking care of criminals and I don't have health insurance either. Medical bills if something goes wrong would likely far outpace anything home insurance didn't cover.

I live in a two story plus basement townhouse and the only other resident is my grandmother. My designated hidey hole is in between all the bedrooms in the house and the rest of the place. If I had kids with bedrooms not adjacent to the current cluster though, my plans would be changed accordingly and perhaps considerably.

 

[guntotinpatriot]

Fool or not...there ARE states where it is LEGAL to use Lethal Force to protect yourself and your property.

IIRC Colorado is or was one of those states...its not an uncommon thing in the Western Mtn States....they literally call it the "Make My Day Law".....no joke kids!

Yes they do! I moved from MD to Colorado in '93.......what a culture shock. I distinctly remeber the first time I was told about the "make my day law". Alas, I'm back here now........and I'm thinking I wouldn't pull the trigger on someone over property- not here.

Sometimes I really miss that state.

 

[ffrobbyrob]

My wife is from Colorado. I want to move there now. To bad she has a good business here or I would move tomorrow.

 

[BenL]

People who clear buildings as their job seem to have no love of it and that factors into my thinking.

That's my thought, exactly.

Guys who train for this scenario every day, still get that nervous, pit-of-the-stomach feeling when they do it. As a civillian, the safe thing to do is hold up with your weapon somewhere secure until the pros arrive.

That being said, if the BG came within eyesight, he'd get a chest of 3" 000. I practice with it all the time, and the spread is pretty good (~14" circle at 25').