PA Bill Number: HB2663
Title: Providing for older adults protective services; and making a repeal.
Description: Providing for older adults protective services; and making a repeal. ...
Last Action: Referred to AGING AND OLDER ADULT SERVICES
Last Action Date: Nov 19, 2024
Self-Defense Tip: Avoid Gunfights Using A Stupid Checklist :: 11/14/2014
More “gun violence” in Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America jefe Shannon Watts’ backyard – which could have been prevented by “fixing gun laws.” Or, indeed, not. This time we offer our readers a story from news14.com of an Evansville, Indiana homeowner who wasn’t armed when home invaders came knocking, and almost paid for it with his life . . .
Evansville police say officers responded to an attempted burglary at a home in the 2700 block of Oakley around 7:15 Tuesday evening.
The victim told police that someone knocked on his door and when he opened it, a man pointed a handgun at him. The victim tried to shut the door, but couldn’t.
Police say the victim fought with suspect and they eventually ended up on the ground in the front yard.
Opening the door to a stranger at any time is a stupid idea – even if the stranger says they’re a police officer. By the same token, home carry, people. Home carry. Because you never know when you might find yourself in the middle of a life-or-death struggle. And if you are fighting for your life, a handgun is an excellent way to even the odds, or turn them dramatically in your favor.
During the struggle the victim says the suspect’s gun went off. He was then able to break free and run towards the back yard. The victim says the suspect tried to follow him, but he was able to turn and punch the suspect in the face several times.
Police say at that point the suspect had had enough and fled the area in a car.
The victim told officers that there were a total of three people involved in the attempted burglary and they all left in the car with the armed suspect.
The cops got the wounded bad guy when he showed-up at a local hospital. This could have easily have ended with the good guy (assuming he was so) in the hospital or morgue. But I want to make a wider point than the two self-defense suggestions mentioned above.
Most victims of assault find themselves in trouble “unexpectedly.” I’m not saying that situational awareness is all; as some gun gurus maintain. Bad guys are sneaky and ambushes are not uncommon. But just like pilots who experience an airplane “accident,” victims of violent assaults usually miss/ignore/fail to take action on a combination and/or series of warning signs.
In that sense, carrying a gun is like packing a parachute when flying a small plane: you don’t use it unless you have to and you do everything you can to make sure you don’t have to. I reckon people could avoid most defensive gun uses by using a simple life-saving check-list based on time-tested advice: avoid stupid people in stupid places doing stupid things.
1. Avoid stupid people
Ask yourself, “are the people I’m with stupid?” That could mean stupid drunk or stupid about safety. It could also mean plain old stupid. I’m no intellectual snob. But there are people for whom rational thinking is a serious indeed insurmountable challenge. (This group includes a great man so-called “smart people.”) Stupid people tend to operate on emotion. Emotions are volatile. People who operate on emotions are volatile. Or they can be under certain circumstances, especially when they’re in stupid places, doing stupid things.
2. Avoid stupid places
Ask yourself, “is this a stupid place?” It could be a roadhouse bar full of drunken louts at 2am or an alleyway between two perfectly safe streets at 2pm. It could be a stadium full of people where there’s no easy way out or a stop-‘n-rob in a bad neighborhood. It could also be a gun range where customers muzzle each other or a dinner party where the conversation goes beyond heated to dangerously aggressive (between stupid people, of course).
See how that works? A place becomes exponentially more stupid when stupid people are in it. That’s how this list works. If you’re with stupid people, well, that’s not always dangerous. If you’re in a stupid place, well, your odds of being at a stop-‘n-rob when someone decides to initiate a 211 are pretty low. But if you’re in a stupid place with stupid people, it’s definitely time to go.
3. Avoid [all] people doing stupid things
Ask yourself, “are people doing stupid things here?” Is that guy hitting on that cute girl at the bar when her steroid-infused boyfriend goes to the bathroom? Are rabid football fans screaming obscenities at rival football fans right next to them? Is that shopkeeper stashing thousands of dollars worth of bling jewelry in a case without any obvious security?
Again, any one of these eventualities should trigger a serious rethink about whether or not adding your presence is worth the personal risk. If two of these tick boxes are checked-off, it’s time to go. Stupid people doing stupid things? Sayonara. People doing stupid things in a stupid place? Ciao! If all three are in play, call your extraction team.
Or, at least, be prepared for what might happen next. In the news story above, a man was in a smart place (his home) did a stupid thing (opened his door) to a stupid person (stranger). Actually, you could say the stupid person was him. Which he couldn’t have avoided. So . . . always carry a gun just in case. Void where prohibited by law.
