I believe in armed self-defense.
I believe in being prepared to use deadly force -- a firearm -- to defend myself, my family, my community and my country.
And should the use of such force ever become necessary, I would do it without blinking an eye and without giving it a second thought.
I believe there is a natural right to self-defense that is outside of and above the laws of government.
I believe in carrying a gun, and in having firearms available in my home for the purpose of self-defense.
But I don't believe in being trigger happy, and I think this guy on Marion Street the other night should have been taken out in handcuffs.
John McCausland has told reporters that about 1 o'clock Friday morning, he heard a pounding on his front door. A loud, insistent pounding. He went to the door and shouted that the person should go away. The pounding continued.
Mr. McCausland said that he feared the person was going to break through the door.
So he went to his closet and retrieved his "hunting rifle," an arm he said he hadn't used in 30 years.
He then returned to the area of his home near the front door and fired a round from the rifle through the door.
The pounding continued and a pane of glass was broken.
So he fired again.
And then, the homeowner told reporters, he called the police.
A bunch of blue-and-whites responded. Later, the man who pounded on the door was apprehended -- uninjured -- and charged with criminal mischief and criminal trespassing.
Word is he might have been confused about where he was.
Mr. McCausland was not charged.
Which is wrong.
Because Mr. McCausland was wrong.
He was not defending his home, he was endangering his neighborhood. He was not justified morally or legally.
First of all, if the bad guy is on the outside of the door, and there is no reason to believe he is armed and going to shoot you through the door, he is a nuisance, not a threat. The door is doing its job, and you should let the police do theirs. At the first disturbance, Mr. McCausland should have dialed 9-1-1.
But he didn't.
He got his rifle and shot it through the door.
Which is both unwarranted and irresponsible.
And incredibly dangerous.
He shoots through a door not knowing who is outside it or where they are standing. Or with any idea of where that rifle round is going. Because it is going -- through the door and across the street and through the neighbor's house and potentially for a great distance, carrying danger with it every inch of the way.
It is a completely reckless discharge that breaks the law and for which he should have been charged.
Had he hit the guy on the porch, the homeowner would have been arrested for assault or homicide.
What he did was completely wrong.
So what should he have done?
The first thing he should have done is call the police. Then he should have gotten his gun. Then he should have locked himself in an upstairs bedroom or someplace, and barricaded the door.
And waited -- for the police to come and do their job, or for the bad guy to break in and break through and force the issue.
That's not cowardice, that's prudence. It protects the homeowner, and it doesn't needlessly endanger anyone else -- including neighbors and the intruder.
Who might be drunk, or mentally ill, or otherwise innocently confused.
Or maybe just there to steal the TV.
And we don't kill people for stealing the TV.
That may not be the Rambo response, but it is the smart response. It protects you from the intruder, and from legal issues which may arise if you do things wrong.
It also protects you from a lifetime of regret for shooting someone who didn't really need to be shot.
You must be resolved and ready, but not blood thirsty.