Massachusetts man facing multiple charges for shooting a bear on his property

From the libertarian Reason magazine (with links to news media stories).

Excerpt:

Richard Ahlstrand, of Auburn, Massachusetts, faces criminal charges after encountering a bear in his back yard and shooting the damned thing to avoid being mauled or eaten. Specifically, as noted at Reason 24/7, he’s charged with “illegally killing a bear, illegally baiting a bear, illegal possession of a firearm and failure to secure a firearm.” All of these charges, once translated from Massachusetts to American, seem to stack up to outrage that Ahlstrand didn’t make his yard completely inhospitable to animals that are rarely seen in the area, and then investigated a suspicious noise with a weapon in hand rather than cower under the bed. Worst of all, he actually defended himself when he encountered danger.

[...]In both the Telegram and CBS articles, “authorities” are quoted as saying they don’t think the bear was a threat to people. I suppose it’s possible that the black bears in Massachusetts are a kinder, gentler breed than the one that mauled a man near Payson, Arizona, last June. Or the one that tore up a woman in the same area in May. And then there was the bear that did a job on a woman near Pinetop …

When I see stories like this, the first thing that I think is that my role as a protector has been criminalized by the state. Suppose that I owned property and had a family and a bear wandered onto my property and threatened my family. The environmentally-friendly authorities think that I should let the bear eat my family, or at least sit still and hope that he doesn’t. Is it reasonable to have a family if you can’t protect them? What kind of incentive are these tree-hugging leftists offering men to get married when men know perfectly well that the state prefers them to watch their family be mauled by a bear rather allow that man to shoot that bear?

Filed under: News, Bear, Defense, Environmentalism, Gun Control, Guns, Home, Home Defense, Male, Men, Protector, Self-Defense, Shotgun

21-year-old man uses legally owned firearm to defend family from three criminals

From KHOU Houston.

Excerpt:

A 21-year-old man sprang into action to protect his family Thursday night when three suspects barged into their northwest Harris County home.

The young man was home with his mother and father in the 3900 block of Brook Garden when the armed men forced their way into the house around 8 p.m., according to Harris County Sheriff’s deputies.

The family was in the middle of baking a cake, when there was a knock at the door.

“I see a young boy and I think it is a friend of my son so I open it a little bit,” the father explained. “These guys push and out comes two more, they push me on the ground.”

After the father was down, the suspects went after the mother. That is when the son ran and got his dad’s gun. He opened fire and hit one of the suspects, who died in the back bedroom. The other two suspects fled the scene.

[...]Neighbors said the son was just doing what he had to do.

“People can’t go breaking into people’s homes and not expect some sort of consequence,” said Harry Moulder.

No charges were expected to be filed against the homeowner’s son.

Another day, another defensive gun use by a law abiding citizen to thwart a crime. When I read stories like this one, I ask myself this question: what’s the liberal alternative resolution to this scenario? They just want the law abiding people to submit to the criminals. The liberal alternative is to let the three people in the home die at the hands of criminals.

Don’t believe me?

Take a look at this list of recommendations for victims of rape, which was put out by a liberal university.

Look:

1. Be realistic about your ability to protect yourself.
2. Your instinct may be to scream, go ahead! It may startle your attacker and give you an opportunity to run away.
3. Kick off your shoes if you have time and can’t run in them.
4. Don’t take time to look back; just get away.
5. If your life is in danger, passive resistance may be your best defense.
6. Tell your attacker that you have a disease or are menstruating.
7. Vomiting or urinating may also convince the attacker to leave you alone.
8. Yelling, hitting or biting may give you a chance to escape, do it!
9. Understand that some actions on your part might lead to more harm.
10. Remember, every emergency situation is different. Only you can decide which action is most appropriate.

That’s the best campus leftists can do for law-abiding victims of crime. Pee on yourself and maybe your rapist will go away. But you can’t own a gun, because guns scare criminals with their loud noises.

Related posts

• Woman raped at gunpoint in “gun free zone” on university campus
• Man uses firearm to defend home and 2-year-old son from criminals
• Great grandmother fires at mugger with legally-owned, legally-carried handgun
• Man who doesn’t believe in guns thanks gun owners for protecting him from burglar
• Man shoots robbery suspect to protect his 2-year-old son
• Woman uses gun to defend herself and her children from home intruder
• 12-year-old girl shoots home intruder in the shoulder with legally owned firearm
• Armed bystander stops stabbing outside school
• 14-year old boy uses parents’ handgun to deter armed intruder
• Woman defends herself from intruder using legally-owned firearm
• Recently widowed mother uses legally owned gun to defend her child
• Pregnant woman uses her shotgun to scare burglars out of her home

Filed under: News, Concealed Carry, Crime, Criminal, Defensive Gun Use, Defensive Handgun Use, Gun, Gun Ban, Gun Control, Guns, Handgun, Home, Home Defense, Home Invasion, Protect, Protector, Self-Defense

12-year-old girl shoots home intruder in the shoulder with legally owned firearm

Left-wing ABC News reports.

Full text:

Kendra St. Clair, 12, was at home alone in Oklahoma, when loud banging began on the door to her family’s home. Soon, the glass shattered and an intruder had entered.

“I was scared and I didn’t know what to do next,” Kendra told ABC News.

Petrified, she called her mom Debra.

“I said Kendra get the gun and go get in my closet now. And call 911.”

The young 6th grader followed her mom’s orders to the tee.

The 911 tapes tell the story as it unfolded.

Kendra: “I’m at my house. I’m in my closet. And I ran away from (inaudible) someone’s trying to get into my house and I do not know who they are.” Dispatcher: “Ok I have a deputy en route, I want you to stay on the phone with me. Ok?” Kendra: “Ok. Please. I think they are in the house.”

Kendra had taken shelter in a closet, clutching her mother’s .40 caliber glock gun while she listened to the intruder make his way around her home.

Kendra: “Please help me. Please.” Dispatcher: “Alright, alright. I understand. Do you still have your mom’s gun there?” Kendra: “Yes I do. I have it in my hand.”

Her fear intensified to sheer terror, when she saw the knob of the closet door beginning to turn.

At that point, that for the first time in her life, Kendra fired a gun.

Police said the bullet traveled straight through the closet door and struck 32-year-old Stacey Jones in the shoulder, scaring him out of the house.

They arrested him a few blocks away and charged Jones with first degree burglary.

“When I had the gun, I didn’t think I was actually going to have to shoot somebody,” the 6th grader recalled. “I think it’s going to change me a whole lot, knowing that I can hold my head up high and nothing can hurt me anymore.”

Her mother Debra agrees.

“I think that she did something that most grown-ups wouldn’t be able to do in a frightening situation. I think she handled herself amazingly.”

Jones was treated at the hospital and released into the custody of authorities. Police said he has not yet entered a plea but that bond has been set for $250,000.

My fear about Barack Obama is that if he gets a second term, then he will ban private ownership of handguns. And then stories like this will end in tragedy for the law-abiding people. Banning guns is an inherently pro-criminal policy. And when you read stories like this, it’s easy to see why.

Related posts

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• Couple arrested for using legally-owned gun to defend home from burglars
• Armed bystander stops stabbing outside school
• Obama campaign contributor and gun control advocate ran Fast and Furious
• If you defend your home from armed intruders in the UK, you get arrested
• UK family arrested for defending their home from burglar
• Police warn UK woman for scaring away burglars with kitchen knife
• 61-year-old British man convicted for cutting up fruit with a Swiss Army knife
• Could tougher gun control laws lower the violent crime rate?
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• Crime rates in Chicago and DC drop after gun control laws are struck down
• Do gun control laws cause crime rates to go down?
• Do gun-free zones prevent multiple victim shootings?
• John Stossel makes the case against gun control in 6 minutes
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• Liberal MSNBC says that more legal firearm ownership reduces crime rates
• John Stossel makes the case against gun control in 6 minutes
• Formal debate on gun control featuring John Lott and Gary Kleck
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• Grandmother jailed for five years for owning family heirloom handgun
• Do gun-free zones prevent multiple-victim public shootings in Europe?
• Understanding how concealed carry laws save lives
• Why do people favor legal private ownership and concealed carry of handguns?

Filed under: News, Barack Obama, Crime, Crime and Punishment, Criminal, Criminology, Democrat Party, Deterrence, Equality, Firearm, Firearm Ownership, Gun Ban, Gun Control, Gun Ownership, Gun Rights, Handgun Ban, Home Defense, Jurisrudence, Male, Men, Punishment, Self-Defense, Sex Roles

Police threatened to charge man who defended his wife with attempted murder

From the UK Daily Mail, the latest on the story about the couple who was arrested for wounding four burglars who invaded their home with a legally-owned shotgun. (H/T Dina)

Excerpt:

The couple held by police over the shooting of two intruders at their isolated cottage spoke yesterday of their ‘living nightmare’.

Andy Ferrie said he ‘plumbed the depths of despair’ when police told him he could face a charge of attempted murder.

Tracey Ferrie said being kept in a police cell away from her husband had ‘petrified’ her and she was haunted by the ‘stomach-churning’ experience.

Mr Ferrie, 35, and his 43-year-old wife were arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm after he called police to report that he had discharged a shotgun, hitting two of four men who had broken into their home.

They were held in separate cells and handcuffed for a court appearance where detectives sought more time to hold them for questioning.

Mrs Ferrie, a saleswoman, said: ‘I was completely petrified. Being locked up in a police cell just yards from my husband, but banned from talking to him, was agony.

‘When I can get some sleep now I wake up with a start and think I’m back in the cell. It’s mortifying and stomach churning.’

She said their cottage at Welby, near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, looked like ‘something out of CSI’ as police swarmed around the hamlet following the incident early last Sunday.

Mr Ferrie, who runs a mobile home repair business, said being told he could ultimately face an attempted murder charge had left him too anxious to eat during almost three days and nights in custody.

[...]‘I was petrified, scared stiff,’ Mr Ferrie told The Sun. ‘I only did what any other bloke would have done given the situation. I’m no hero or hard man. I did what I did to protect my precious, lovely wife.

‘I was only a few feet away, I could have shot to kill but I didn’t. I was relieved later when I was told the injuries I had caused were not life-threatening. The events of the last few days have scarred us for life.’

Mr Ferrie, who plans to emigrate to Australia with his wife next year, said that during his time in custody he was ‘told my case had been upgraded to attempted murder’.

He added: ‘I just crumpled. I saw myself being sent to prison for a long, long time. I was offered food but didn’t eat for the whole 66 hours we were held.’

Last week, a court heard how the couple were woken by the sound of banging and breaking glass as the intruders forced their way inside just after midnight. Mr Ferrie confronted one of the alleged raiders in their bedroom.

If there were any justice in the world, the police and Crown lawyers responsible for this tragedy would all be sacked, right up to the top of the police force. A civil suit by the victims of the crime would make a nice end to it. Too bad the liberal pro-criminal politicians who criminalized self-defense in the UK won’t be forced to spend a few years in jail. That wouldn’t even be enough to punish them for what they did to those law-abiding citizens right after they were traumatized by a home break-in.

We have to be very careful in this country about politicians on the left who oppose property rights, gun ownership and self-defense. Politicians on the left are always moaning about the rights of criminals and the need to ban guns and prohibit self-defense. This story from the UK shows what their plan does to ordinary people. Why would any man get married and start a family in a country run by feminist leftists who put a man in jail for taking up the role of protector of his family and his home?

Filed under: Polemics, Crime, Crime and Punishment, Criminal, Criminology, Deterrence, Equality, Feminism, Feminization, Gun Control, Gun Ownership, Gun Rights, Harriet Harman, Home Defense, Jurisrudence, Male, Men, Punishment, Seld-Defense, Sex Roles, Socialism, UK

Couple arrested for using legally-owned gun to defend home from burglars

Dina sent me this article from the UK Daily Mail, which I found very disturbing.

Excerpt:

• Police received 999 call from a man who said he had opened fire on four intruders
• Man, 35, fired shotgun at gang who broke into his isolated cottage in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire
• He and his wife, 43, called police immediately after shooting
• Couple arrested on suspicion of GBH and four men detained on suspicion of aggravated burglary

The couple arrested after two suspected burglars were shot during a midnight break-in at their remote rural home had been robbed three or four times already, it has been reported.

Police descended on the farm cottage in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire after receiving a 999 call from a man who said he had opened fire on four intruders.

The homeowners, who have been named as 35-year-old Andy Ferrie and his wife Tracey, 43, were understood to have called police immediately after the shooting, at 12.26am yesterday morning.

Mr Ferrie’s mother Susan Spilner told the Sun newspaper: ‘This is not the first time they have been broken into. They have been robbed three or four times. One of them was quite nasty.”

[...]The man who dialed 999 told officers he had fired his shotgun, which is licensed and legally held, and the intruders fled.

Minutes later, ambulance paramedics were called to treat a man with shotgun injuries. The 999 call was understood to have been made by one of the suspected burglars.

A second man was treated for shotgun injuries after he walked into Leicester Royal Infirmary, around ten miles from the cottage.

Neither of the men’s injuries were said to be serious.

The householder and his wife were arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm.

He is thought to be a farm worker who kept the shotgun legally as part of his job. Four men in their 20s and 30s were also arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary.

I checked the population of their city and it’s 25,000 people. That is just scary to me.

The UK took a hard turn to the left over the last couple of decades under the Labor Party. They believed that disarming law-abiding citizens in order to protect criminals would reduce crime. In addition to arresting law-abiding citizens, the UK also has strict gun control that prevents law-abiding citizens from defending themselves from criminals. For example, in 1997, the UK banned handguns. The result of that policy was that violent crime more than doubled in the four years following the ban. So not only is there this initiative on the secular left to coddle criminals with lighter sentences, but there is also the effort by the secular left to disarm law-abiding citizens.

Men in particular are meant to use force against criminals. But that distinctive male role is not OK with the UK Labor Party, who do not like distinctions of good and evil in any case. This inability to protect their families is stressful for men. Many men are not interested in getting married because of this stress. The whole point of marriage for a man is that there will be respect for his male roles from his family as well as from the state. The refusal of the government to punish criminals is not reassuring to men. And the government’s tendency to not let men do what needs to be done and use their judgment in cases like this just makes marriage seem less attractive to us.

Related posts

• If you defend your home from armed intruders in the UK, you get arrested
• UK family arrested for defending their home from burglar
• Police warn UK woman for scaring away burglars with kitchen knife
• 61-year-old British man convicted for cutting up fruit with a Swiss Army knife
• Could tougher gun control laws lower the violent crime rate?
• Pregnant woman uses her shotgun to scare burglars out of her home
• Crime rates in Chicago and DC drop after gun control laws are struck down
• Do gun control laws cause crime rates to go down?
• Do gun-free zones prevent multiple victim shootings?
• John Stossel makes the case against gun control in 6 minutes
• Do guns reduce crime? Watch this debate and hear both sides
• Liberal MSNBC says that more legal firearm ownership reduces crime rates
• John Stossel makes the case against gun control in 6 minutes
• Formal debate on gun control featuring John Lott and Gary Kleck
• Tom Sowell on gun control and judicial activism
• Grandmother jailed for five years for owning family heirloom handgun
• Do gun-free zones prevent multiple-victim public shootings in Europe?
• Understanding how concealed carry laws save lives
• Why do people favor legal private ownership and concealed carry of handguns?

Filed under: News, Crime, Crime and Punishment, Criminal, Criminology, Deterrence, Equality, Feminism, Feminization, Gun Control, Gun Ownership, Gun Rights, Harriet Harman, Home Defense, Jurisrudence, Male, Men, Punishment, Seld-Defense, Sex Roles, Socialism, UK