Justified

I was doing what most people do on a normal day on the computer. Clicking away, heading to my email account during one of my ‘not so busy’ moments when I stumbled upon a football story. This one was sort of football related, and turned into kind of a diatribe on the author’s part. It was a story about Plaxico Burress and his latest bad decision. You can read the entire story here:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8877402?MSNHPHMA

  Yes, Plax had a gun in a place where he shouldn’t have (establishment that serves mostly alcohol) and apparently doesn’t have a license (and therefore, the training) to carry a weapon on his person. I’m not arguing that he is not a knucklehead. There were reasons beyond financial for my beloved Steelers letting him go a few years back. He does not possess the kind of good character attributes that the vast majority of current Steelers have.

 There were a few lines toward the end of this particular story that really caught my eye, though. The first sentence is in reference to former Washington Redskin Sean Taylor being shot and killed in his home-he didn’t have a gun.

You wonder: would a gun have made any difference, though?

Perhaps. But I tend to think not. I'm still waiting for the first gun story with a righteous ending. You don't hear about the guy who popped the two burglars as they were coming through the screen door. No. The stories usually end like Plaxico Burresses, just not as funny. Or as lucky.

Funny, but one of my best friends in the world sent me a story a few days ago that would fill Mr. Kriegel’s self-proclaimed void. He hasn’t read any sort of stories like this because they never make it past the smaller newspapers to be reported on television or printed in big newspapers that cover mostly metro areas with a million plus readership. Big cities also tend to be the ones that have passed Draconian gun laws making it very hard for law abiding citizens to possess handguns, let alone carry one concealed for protection. This one was in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette:

  

LR home intruder fatally shot No charges yet for homeowner who fired at 2 men, killing 1 By Jacob Quinn Sanders Tuesday, November 25, 2008 LITTLE ROCK — A Little Rock man fired four shots early Monday at two men trying to break into his house, killing one while the other escaped, police said. Little Rock police have so far declined to charge Jason Cook, 27, with a crime for firing the shots. Investigators plan, however, to send their file to the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney’s office for review. According to a police report, Cook was on the phone in bed at 30 Rosemont Drive just after midnight when he heard his doorbell ring. Cook told police he was not expecting company. He told police he grabbed a handgun and walked down a hallway. He heard the doorbell ring again and then heard loud, banging sounds, according to the report, then saw that the door from the carport had been forced open. Two men walked inside Cook’s house, according to the report. Cook fired, hitting the first man three times, his wounds forcing him to the floor, according to the report. The second man ran away. The first man got up and dragged himself outside, according to the report. Police found Roderick Jacobs, 19, still alive outside Cook’s house inside a 1999 Buick Park Avenue, which had its motor running. Metropolitan Emergency Management Services workers drove Jacobs to St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center, where he died from his injuries later Monday morning. Though only a legal adult for less than two years, Jacobs had been charged with at least eight separate felonies since his 18th birthday in February 2007, Pulaski County court records show. He pleaded guilty to five of them, one was dropped in exchange for a plea deal and two more were pending. The cases included gun, drug and theft charges. Jacobs was scheduled for a bench trial Dec. 5 on charges of theft by receiving and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He faced a probation-revocation hearing set for the same day based on the same charges. He was on probation for a 2007 guilty plea after he was found carrying four grams of crack cocaine. Jacobs’ death was the 37th homicide in Little Rock in 2008, Little Rock police said.

 The perpetrator in the Little Rock case was probably not taking classes at the local community college, nor was he likely collecting money for a charitable organization at the time of his demise. Unfortunately, the world is full of bad people, and to own a handgun or rifle in order to protect oneself from such bad people is a right and responsibility I and millions of others don’t take lightly. I hope I never get put in a position similar to Jason Cook’s, but I can tell you I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to protect myself, my home, and the people I hold most dear. If that means taking the life of someone like this winner, uh..suspect, then so be it.

CZ