3/01 Invade A Home, Invite A Bullet

Invade a Home, Invite a Bullet
by
Larry Pratt

A rash of home burglaries in South Carolina elicited a refreshing reaction from the states Attorney General, Charlie Condon.

In a January statement, Condon sent a memorandum to all state prosecutors and law enforcement officials warning them not to arrest or prosecute people who defend themselves with “deadly force” against a “home invader.”

Condon went on to say, “In South Carolina, would-be intruders should now hear this: Invade a home and invite a bullet.” Not only was Condon putting the crooks on notice, he was letting homeowners know their rights.

Can you imagine the Attorney General of Illinois, California, Massachusetts or New York making such a statement? No doubt they would be afraid that too many crooks would be killed. The anti-self defense mind views protecting oneself as vigilantism — even terrorism.

This, of course, was precisely what Handgun Control was saying when they equated George Washington and other founders of American independence with Timothy McVeigh, the terrorist involved in the Oklahoma City bombing.

The anti-gun crowd is so opposed to self defense that they cannot see that it was the Americans who were resisting British terrorism. Illegally attacking people, which the British did to the Americans, is the classic predicate for employing self defense, but that’s not good enough for Handgun Control.

It would have been better still if South Carolina’s Attorney General had also told prosecutors not to bring cases against citizens who defend themselves outside the home with a concealed handgun for which they may have had no permit.

Prosecutors have that kind of discretion. They have the freedom to determine, case by case, whether to seek an indictment and prosecute.

We the People, as voters, should be looking for prosecutors to elect who respect the right to keep and bear arms. Hopefully, enough of us will ask candidates about this that they will eventually get the point that this might be a key to their election.

Thanks to Charlie Condon, the door is now partially open for self defense in South Carolina. Let’s work to see this idea spread.