By: Pacowy On: Tue Jan 24, 2012 12:30 pm
This thread started with your report of a theft, and much of the 5 pages that follow - including the post preceding mine to which I was responding - relates to the use of guns in response to crimes against property, so I don't think I've missed the point. I've had stuff stolen (burglary in Boston; 2 yard thefts in Dalton) and I'm not a gun control advocate, but the idea that people who are frustrated and angry can solve their problems by grabbing a gun makes an argument for gun control that the proponents of the idea undoubtedly do not intend. If no one can name a state where deadly force is permitted in response to property crimes - let alone any demonstration that such a policy works - it seems like the point is more of a fantasy from a video game than anything that would be useful in addressing the problem. From what I remember of Saugus, there aren't many back yards or driveways where a person could discharge a firearm without putting the neighbors in jeopardy, so I hope your neighbors resist the temptation.
Around here, maybe it's a small world, or maybe the new correctional facility was built with excess capacity, but thieves really do get caught and sometimes they do time. In MA, no less! I do sympathize with you on your experience, but I'd like people to make sure the cure they advocate doesn't create more problems than it solves.
Mike