Why Guns Belong in Church.

I had attended the Church Security Classes that our local Sheriff had sponsored a couple of years ago when I was a Trustee and we Trustee's amongst ourselves were armed even though the Church elders didn't like the idea.  I understood the reasoning, but it was legal bullcrap,  they were more scared of lawyers than of of some psycho getting into the Church and start shooting the members of the congregation.  That was part of the reason I had purchased the M&P Shield that I have.  

I had shamelessly clipped this From Ox and Dave Morris and their blog, I get email notifications about shooting classes and once the ammo shortages start easing up, I want to get more training, but right now I am afraid to go do any real shooting that involves a lot of ammo usage because I can't replace what I will expend, although the Sheriff's office where Mack hangs his hat and Pudge had raved about, I would like to attend.  

 Well meaning people have said that guns don’t belong in churches, but today I'm going to point out why I believe the Bible says that it is appropriate to have an armed congregation

Why guns belong in churches this Christmas

I know that not all of my readers attend church.  Even if you don’t attend church of any kind, there is good information here that can be applied to other situations and locations.  I’m not going to get preachy, but there is some church-talk in here.  Regardless, I’d encourage you to read it to pick up some easy to find, but little known things that the Bible says about self-defense.

There’s been a lot of talk since the 2017 shooting in Sutherland TX about church shootings and church security.

Well meaning people have said that guns don’t belong in churches.  One ignorant, yet prominent politician even said churches are the last place for guns.  I disagree based on what the Bible actually says and furthermore I believe that peace-loving, gentle people are the ones who benefit the most from guns.

In addition, I believe the Bible says that it is appropriate to have an armed congregation.

Church security has been a passion of mine for more than a decade and I have had to wrestle with several issues regarding the place of guns in church, stopping evil vs. turning the other cheek, carrying when it’s less-than-legal, and the balance between people who abhor violence of any kind and people like me who train to use violence to be able to stop aggressors from preying on innocent people.

One of the biggest problems is that people misunderstand the Bible’s stance on killing vs. murder.

This understanding muddies the waters on the topic of self-defense and church security as a result.

Take it 1 step further and there’s a very serious issue with warriors coming back from war feeling like they don’t have a place in church anymore because of the fact that they took life or were willing to take life.

Simply put, the Bible doesn’t say, “Thou Shall Not ‘Kill'”  and any time you see “thou shall not kill,” it is a mistranslation that is incredibly easy for modern readers to confirm.  Let’s start by going back to the 10 Commandments.  The word used for the 5th/6th commandment translates to “murder” and not “kill” as many translations of the Bible have mis-translated and well meaning people have misquoted.

“Thou shalt not kill” is incorrect and unbiblical.  “Thou shalt not murder” fits with the rest of the Bible.

The word for kill applies to humans AND animals.

If the commandment was not to kill, God wouldn’t have killed animals in the garden to clothe Adam and Eve (Gen 3:21),

He wouldn’t have taken sides in war (Gideon-Judges 7, David & Goliath-1 Samuel 17, etc),

Animals wouldn’t be listed as food (Genesis 9:3 and

He wouldn’t have instituted killing animals as part of the atonement process (Leviticus 3:45).

Jesus wouldn’t have told the disciples to sell their extra cloak and buy a sword (Luke 22:36-38), and

He would have told Simon to get rid of his sword instead of re-sheath it when he cut off the Roman guard’s ear (22:50-51).

The misinterpretation has long caused guys who have legitimately killed and guys who have switched their brain to be able to kill bad actors to protect good ones to feel a disconnect with the Bible, church, and with other Christians who haven’t dug into what the Bible actually says.

What about the need to turn the other cheek?  Matthew 5:38-40.

I’m not a Biblical scholar, but a couple of ways that I can find to make that mesh with the rest of scripture is to interpret it as saying that we’re not supposed to take revenge, be a vigilante, or be Frank Castle from “The Punisher,” no matter how appealing the storyline is.

We have a system in place called due process to institute justice after the fact.  It’s not perfect, but it’s probably better than everyone serving out justice individually on their own terms in the heat of the moment.

Another possibility for turning the cheek is when a Christian is being slapped FOR being a Christian…not when a Christian is being mugged or assaulted or when someone is trying to kill that Christian.

Let’s get personal…even if my wife would happen to believe that she should turn the other cheek if she was being attacked, it doesn’t say I should stand by and do nothing.

Stopping violence is different than getting revenge.

Along with not being a vigilante, the Bible tells us that life is precious, that we’re to rescue the weak and needy & deliver them from the hand of the wicked.  We’re to take care of widows and orphans.  We’re to rescue those who are being taken away to death and pull back those who are being taken to slaughter.  I’d argue that sometimes that entails being able to take effective action against tyrants who are comfortable with violence.

But we’re also supposed to love our enemies, be quick to forgive, and if possible, live at peace with everyone.

So, God has a history of blessing warriors, makes provision for killing an intruder at night (Exodus 22:2), Jesus tells the disciples to be armed, but no other mention is made in the rest of the New Testament, and we’re supposed to protect the weak and the sick.

What’s this mean for churches and church security?

A few things…

“Tactical Preacher” sent me a link to a sermon he gave on Christian self-defense.  You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huR0djKL2p8&feature=youtu.be and a few of these points came from him.

1.  When Jesus tells the 11 disciples to arm themselves, they replied back saying they had 2 swords and Jesus said that was enough.  He didn’t tell everyone that they needed to be armed.  The numbers work out to roughly 20%.  It’s not a command, but it is an illustration of a good model.  As a comparison, there are roughly 800,000 credentialed law enforcement officers in a country of 325 million.  20% isn’t a hard and fast number, but if ONLY law enforcement were armed, we’d be at roughly .2% or .002.  About .7% of the US population is active or reserve military.  IF the 20% number is a guide, it means a lot of pastors, staff, and other civilians need to fill in the gap.

2.  Some law enforcement will never switch off…even in church.  But those who can or need to should be able to and shouldn’t always carry the burden of protecting the flock by themselves.

3.  Not everyone can or should be armed.  Current/past legal issues, lack of training, sickness, lack of temper control, mental state, negative effects of medications, a lack of good judgement, and other issues all make the right choice for many to NOT be armed.  I’d argue that some pastors shouldn’t be armed because their hearts are tender and tuned to help the hurting rather than being tuned to stop evil.  We’re all wired differently.  Some are wired to protect the flock from evil with force…others are wired to protect the flock from evil with prayer.  Some are wired to do both, but a focus on either end of the spectrum at the expense of the other is not healthy for a church.

4.  If you’re a Christian, your faith and hope should be in the Lord…not your gun.

5.  I don’t believe all church ushers or all church security should necessarily be armed.  For many people, it’s difficult to think of non-gun solutions to problems when you’re carrying a gun.  In an ideal situation, you’d have greeters who are JUST happy and smiling.  You’d have another (smaller) set of people who are ready to respond to conflict where lethal force is not appropriate.  Finally, you’d have a smaller set of people who are ready to respond to conflict where lethal force is necessary.

The reality of church volunteer programs is that the same people fill multiple roles, but I think it’s important to delineate the roles and know which people are filling which roles.

As an example, I’ve found that when my overall stress level is high, I can still be the guy looking for and ready to respond to threats, but I’m not the best guy to smile and shake hands with a bunch of people.

The point of this is that, when possible, let people serve in the capacity that they’re able to and use the gifts that they were blessed with.

6.  A LOT of churches are addressing their security concerns right now.  Guns are a very valuable tool to stop violence.  So are tactical lights, tactical pens, OC, Tasers, fire extinguishers, cups of coffee, Bibles, and chairs next to the aisle that you can pick up and ram into an attacker.

7.  Historically, the majority of church related attacks have happened during the week, between the church and parking lot or off property…not during service.  Most disturbances that happen during a service don’t justify a lethal force response.  There’s an incredible book that I recommend called “Evil Invades Sanctuary” that goes into more of these statistics.

It’s tempting to focus on preparing for the incidents that are the most dramatic and that have historically received the most media attention, but it may not be the best use of time/resources.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t plan for the worst, but don’t do so at the expense of planning for events that are more likely to occur.

8.  Just because there are guns in church doesn’t mean that they’ll get used any more than having Bibles in homes means they’ll actually get read.  Guns don’t shoot themselves any more than Bibles read themselves.

9.  The New Testament doesn’t support the idea that people are supposed to act “more Christian” in church and differently out of church.  If you don’t think that guns belong IN church, why would they belong out of church?  And, if you’re supposed to protect the weak, both in church and out of church, why would you voluntarily choose to limit yourself to less effective tools when you’re in church than out of church?

10.  A tricky and sticky thing to keep in mind is that “illegal” has different meanings.  Speeding 1 mile an hour over the speed limit is illegal.  Jaywalking is illegal.  I have carried a concealed pistol in churches where it would have been a minor misdemeanor trespassing charge if 1. It was known that I was carrying, 2. They contacted the police and signed a complaint, and 3. I was charged and found guilty.  I consulted attorneys and fully understood the law, risks, and potential consequences.  Yes, I know that Christians are supposed to follow the laws that have been established and go through the appropriate process to change them if they’re unjust.  Eventually, I was asked to carry (still technically illegal) by an elder.  If the potential consequence would have been a major misdemeanor or a felony, I wouldn’t have done it.

11.  Carrying a gun without training is like driving a car without air in the tires.  Don’t do it.  Get training.  Practice on a regular basis.  Strive to keep improving your skills over time.

Here’s my wish for you…

May you live a life worth defending.

May you be surrounded by people you
love enough to fight for.

May you live a peaceful life,
even though you practice violent arts.

And, on that day when violence
turns your world upside down,

May you stop the threat with
superior skill, intensity, and purity of heart.

I am working a new to me laptop, it is an older one that I inherited, so I wiped it and loaded some basic programs on it.  It is a the same age as my regular laptop but a bit larger so I am getting used to it.  It will become my backup in case my regular laptop bites the farm and is unrecoverable. 
     I got this in my email from Miggy and normally I like to break up items themes, but this came in my email and it ties in what I posted Yesterday.  It is full of good information that is useful in the present situations.

Staying Alive in the Brave New World

Everything has changed, and your safety depends on understanding that.

By

 Michael Bane

 -

 August 26, 2020

Okay kids, let’s make some assumptions here…you are free to accept or reject them as you see fit:

 

• We have fully entered a new phase of “acceptable” violence. What we now see is “recreational arson,” that is, the setting of fires with the inherent risk to human life for fun. Remember when you were a kid and how thrilling setting off fireworks was for you? This is the exact some thing, kicked, as Emeril might say, up a notch.

• One major political party and their farthest left members fully support this violence, because they see it as the best chance for wholesale social change, e.g.the Socialist States of America (or some other similar euphemism for fascism, which is what we are really looking at here). They are correct. Historically, times of massive uncertainty offers a narrow window for massive political/government change. The other side understands that this is “The Year of the Jackpot” [Refer: Robert Heinlein], and they are all-in.

• Yes, we have seen this kind of urban violence before in the late 1960s/early 1970s, but what is different this time is that in the earlier case there was among most citizens an agreement about what America was, a consensus of the exceptionality of the U.S., if you will. That does not exist today. Rather, well before the China Virus and the riots, the two Americas, one red and one blue, were already locked in what has been called — fairly, I think — a “Cold Civil War.”

• Maybe if we all take a deep breath, calm down and relax, we’ll come through this. But maybe not. “Maybe” is a very big word. As we have said on THE BEST DEFENSE, self-defense is always a compromise, a balance of risk/reward. If we apply that same thinking to our current situation, we see the fallacy in “relax.” If we relax and the current crisis just fades away, everything is cool If we relax and are, in fact, wrong, we lose the country, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the vote, our guns and maybe even our lives. The teeter-totter is wildly weighted on only one end.

 

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, given those assumptions, what do we need to know as we face the Brave New World? I have been thinking about that a lot and talking to my team, who I believe are the best in the world at what they do. If we immediately move down to a “tactical,” as opposed to “strategic” level, here are some thoughts. Once again, feel free to either accept them or reject them out of hand. None of us have any words on a marble tablets delivered down from a mountaintop:

 

• If you are not armed all the time, you are a fool. The time for fond illusions of safety has passed.

• This is something I’m often deficient in, but I think we all need to be carrying less lethal weaponry in addition to a firearm. I just ordered a bunch of pepper spray (Sabre Red) to remedy that. I have bear spray for the car (you never know when you’re going to be attacked by bears in these strange times). In our upcoming episode of YOUR BEST DEFENSE, Cecil Burch notes that inside a car, gel makes more sense the spray because you don’t want all that pepper spray in your car or your kids. BTW, have you ever tried/had to function in a gas environment? The mob gets practice in that every night they riot. Consider taking a course…I recommend my friend Chuck Haggard. 

• Understand that if you use that gun or any weapon, for that matter, the full power of the state, in the form of state attorney generals bought and paid for by George Soros and Michael Bloomberg, and the media will be leveled against you. If you don’t have some form of concealed carry insurance (mine is through USCCA), sign up today. Have a criminal lawyer programmed into your phone, and talk to that lawyer IN ADVANCE. Yes, it’s going to cost you money up front, but in all likelihood (as in Kenosha) you are going to be charged with murder rather than hailed as a hero. That’s kinda a big deal.

• THERE IS A YUUUUGGGGEEEE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROTECTING YOUR HOME AND FAMILY AND DOING A MARSHAL DILLON DOWNTOWN! It behooves you to understand that difference. Most states do not allow the use of deadly force to protect property, but it is all hellishly complex, giving you lots of gears to be caught up in. Trust Andrew Branca. I do.

• Should you do decide to go ahead with such an act, assume you will have to use the gun you are carrying. The current batch of urban terrorists are unlikely to melt away at the sight of a firearm. They are not scared of you or the gun. KNOW THE FREAKIN’ LAW in your state and community on lethal force! Standing over a couple of cooling bodies with a smoking AR is a bad time to consider the legality of your situation. THIS IS THE TIME TO NOT BE STUPID, KIDS! Read this: 

• Gabe Suarez once made a great point to me…people talk about who/what they’re willing to kill for, but the big question is actually what/who are you willing to die for, or spend the rest of your life in prison for? Gabe has made that type of hard decision. Cecil, Mike Seeklander and I have talked about that very point in the show going up next week. Where is your line in the sand? You’d better know that when you step out of the door with a gun.

• In ANY case, assume the peaceful protestors/terrorists you are facing are also armed. A brick is a weapon. A skateboard is a weapon. A frozen water bottle is a weapon. A gun, even a crappy zinc pistol, is a weapon and can kill you stone dead. I think we have to assume that at least some members of the mob have guns, and that number will probably be increasing.

• Understand that even in the best case, an armed individual can be overrun by a mob. And when they catch you, they are unlikely to be all that happy with you. I said in my book TRAIL SAFE that none of us needed to go looking for “High Noon,” because “High Noon” would eventually find us. THE GUN IS NOT A TALISMAN AGAINST EVIL! It only matters when it goes “Bang!”

• If you are facing guns, you must be thinking about your situation at at least a semblance of a military level…when you have to move, which direction are you going? WHERE IS COVER? Where is concealment? Where is more ammo? If you are at home, does your Spousal Unit or your kids know what you are planning to do? IS THERE A PLAN? There sure needs to be. And everyone needs to know it.

• You are carrying first aid/trauma gear (caveat, Riley is a friend, but I like his stuff), right? And you know how to use them, right? You don’t? GET THE TRAINING! The ability to save a life, maybe your own, is now a necessary skill. Start here. 

•. The police are not coming. The ambulance is not coming. The first responders who would have been on the scene in minutes in the Old Days — say, February — won’t be there for you. It’s just you and what supplies you have at hand.

• YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN! Now more than ever.

My "Self Defence" Story

I got this idea from Witold Pilecki, a fellow blogger that Hangs out at his blog at Thoughts from Behind Enemy Lines,    He had talked about his self defense story.  The first time I had to "display" a gun to frighten off a potential Threat was in the early 90's.  I was a manager at Domino's Pizza in a town the next county over where I live at now.  A bit of background, when I got out of the service in 1991, I got a job with Kawneer as a door fabricator.  You look at the bottom center of the door, if it is a metal door, usually with glass and what not, but it will have a label that looks kinda like this:

I kept my license plate from my first F150, I snagged the logo during a break.  Well anyway, I was working Kawneer and there was a job slowdown and the entire 2nd shift was laid off.  I was pissed, we did 2 times the work as first shift, but they were union and we were not, we got the axe.  Well I had started working at Domino's Pizza as a driver and was offered a management job.  I got transferred to the store in another county because they needed an assistant manager and off I went.  Well shortly after I got there someone broke into my 1991 F150 and stole my Springfield govt model .45.  I had used it in single stack competitions in Europe.  I was pissed off, that was a good 45 and I still know the serial number.  Well for months afterward I had visions of walking out of the store and seeing the other end of my .45.  I had bought the 45 and my Ruger P89 at the Nellingen Rod and Gun Club in Germany.  Well since then I had a habit of keeping my P89 in the store with me, yes it was in violation of Company policy but I didn't care.  Well one day I had just closed the store and there was a tapping on the glass and there was one of my drivers. he was still in uniform his name was "Gus", well "Gus" was a driver that was drawing disability from the VA for having mental issues. The Store manager had hired him, we were hard up for drivers and he seemed to be ok.   well I let him in and locked the door as he came into the store while I went back to the office to close out the daily report and count the till.  Well when I sat down, I habitually took the Ruger off the desk and sat on it with the butt sticking out.  Well the driver "Gus" came into the office as I was finishing the paperwork for the day and started counting the money to go into the moneybag.  Well "Gus" was talking needing money to buy "some company" if you know what I mean, apparently he knew of a person that sold affection by the hour.  Well he was talking about getting money and visiting her, while I was counting down.  He commented that he was broke and needed some money and I commented while I was counting,"Man I can't help you, I am broke until payday."  He then pointed to the cash I was counting down and commented"What about that?" and I replied calmly..."Naaa.......That belongs to the store,"..By this time I seriously regretted letting "Gus" in to the store, I was picking up some bad vibes from him.  As he kept talking I glanced up at the shelf above my desk and looked at the "HSPP" book, it is "Hourly Sales and Payroll Percentages".  It tracks the sales from the same period last year, it is a tool used by the manager to get a rough draft for labor and sales to plan the schedule and the food.  I recall a year before where a store off Old National Hwy in Atlanta where a manager had his head bashed in with a bat by a driver who proceeded to take the till and when they found him the next day, he had smoked it away in a crack house. but the blood spatters were on the HSPP book so when the store staff got the figures, they had to deal with the dried blood spatters.  Well I was getting the "Deja vu" feeling.  I still acted calm closed up the bank bag and picked up the clipboard where I was putting the daily figures, you know the daily sales, the food percentage and the labor percentage for the day and how they impacted the weekly and monthly figures. We called it the "Daily Keys"  I proceeded to stand up, pick up the Ruger P89...

from the chair and put the pistol under the clipboard as I carried the clipboard to the data entry station outside the office and proceeded to enter the "Keys".  Well "Gus" saw the pistol and freaked out, and yelled "What are you doing with a Pistol??!"  I replied as I was entering keys "The pistol is there in case someone tries to rob me when I go to the bank  after I leave the store.."  He ran out of the store.  I quickly followed and locked the door after he left.  I then went over and sat down and knew that I was very lucky, Sure "Gus" didn't physically touch me, but I am convinced that if I didn't have the pistol, "Gus" would have attacked me to get to the store receipts.  and with him being taller than I am and crazy, I have severe doubts on how I would fare in a physical assault.  I stayed in the office for a couple of hours before I left and yes the pistol was in my hand when I locked up the store and headed to the bank and home.  "Gus" came back for his regularly scheduled shift but he avoided me after that and quit a couple of weeks later.  Well the Ruger, I had to sell her a couple of years later to pay some bills.  I regretted doing so but I was desperate to bring in some money.  This was the salad days for me and the soon to be spousal unit.    Even today, I still count myself as fortunate from that incident, it could have gone pear shaped in a hurry, and I was lucky.  I kept analyzing what did I do wrong, well what I did wrong was let him into the store, but in my defense I have done that in the past with other drivers and the company was nice while I closed the store.  I have had to pull a Pistol 3 more times doing pizza stuff.  I quit when I got my job with my present employer, I didn't enjoy the pizza delivery business anymore and the customers were changing.  Way back when I delivered for the first time in 1985, if you were robbed, they just took the pizza, but in this day and age, they would rob you, take your car and kill you just for street cred.  I never had to fire my private weapons in defense of my life and I am glad.  But I also am glad that I had the pistols when I did because things could have turned out differently.

Instant justice

Saw this on Patriots Post.

Instant Justice for Sociopaths -- Semper Justitia

By Mark Alexander · Thursday, May 10, 2012

Sometimes the good guys win

"Among the natural rights [of the people] are these: first, a right to life; secondly, to liberty; thirdly to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can." --Samuel Adams (1772)

"White Man Kills Two Unarmed Black Men"
Fortunately, that's not a real headline, but it is the type of hype that emblazons the top of the fold and 24-hour cable news spin "Special Reports."
However, after investigating a case in Onslow County (Jacksonville/Camp Lejeune), North Carolina, the district attorney made sure that justifiable self-defense did not become fodder for a media feeding frenzy sponsored by race hustlers Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. He did so by never mentioning the race of the victim who shot two black men. In fact, none of the Jacksonville investigators or media outlets have mentioned the race of the shooter. (How the DA achieved that media color-blind cooperation should be a case-study for every city in the nation.)
Heck, if anyone suggested this case might be spun on race, even Barack Hussein Obama might make a campaign stop in North Carolina to issue this proclamation about the two men killed: "If I had sons, they would look like Maurice Skinner and Diego Everette." (Recall that our Agitator-in-Chief brought the Zimmerman/Martin case in Florida to a national boiling point by announcing, "If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.")
However, District Attorney Ernest R. Lee is a modest and humble man singularly devoted to Rule of Law rather than egomaniacal facetime in the national media. Thus, he chose to take the high road. In an interview, Lee told me, "Race, gender, socio-economic status -- these are not factors in this case nor should they be. What mattered was gaining a clear understanding of the facts in this case and applying the law."
Since you've likely heard nothing about this case, allow me to enlighten you.
In the early morning hours of Sunday, 15 April, two thugs burglarizing neighborhood cars decided to burglarize a house. Unknown to the perpetrators, the house is owned by a Marine from neighboring Camp Lejeune.
According to the official investigative finding of the Jacksonville Police Department, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the District Attorney, the Marine, who will remain unnamed, returned to his house with another Marine and a civilian friend, around 0140 Sunday after attending a birthday party and then patronizing a local club.
Upon entering his home, the Marine noted that things were not in order. As he walked toward the back of his house, Maurice Skinner, 33, stepped out and hit the Marine in the face with the butt of a Mossberg shotgun belonging to the Marine. Skinner and Diego Everette, also 33, had forced entry through the back of the house and had discovered the shotgun under a bed.
Skinner ordered the Marine and his two friends onto the floor and demanded their wallets and cell phones. Everette and Skinner told the men they would kill them if they caused any problems, but reassuringly noted that they would not shoot the Marine who was a father.
Skinner demanded duct tape and rope with which to bind the three victims.
At one point, as Skinner looked away, the Marine resident reached for the shotgun and a struggle ensued. Everette entered the room and joined the brawl, hitting the Marine and his civilian guest with a crowbar. Skinner broke loose and pointed the shotgun at the Marine saying, "You are going to die now," and squeezed the trigger. However, while the Marine resident kept the gun loaded, as a safety practice he didn't keep a round chambered. Thus, the gun did not discharge, leaving Skinner perplexed.

The Marine resident then kicked Skinner and freed the shotgun from the assailant's hands. The Marine retrieved the firearm, chambered a first round, shot Skinner and then shot Skinner again. He then moved to the other side of the room where Everette and the other Marine struggled. The Marine resident shot Everette once and then shot Everette again.
The Marine guest dialed 911 and Jacksonville police officers arrived on the scene minutes later to find perp Skinner and perp Everette deceased. The Marine, his Marine guest and the civilian all had injuries and their clothing was bloodied.
According to District Attorney Lee, "Both Everette and Skinner [had] criminal histories." Everette had numerous assault charges, but Skinner had the most serious charges including a previous felony conviction for assault. Both had served time in prison. Lee noted that neither of the Marines, nor their civilian guest, had previous criminal convictions.
Lee concluded, "Based upon my review of the facts of this case, the occupants of the residence were justified in using deadly force against both Everette and Skinner because the actions of Everette and Skinner caused the occupants to reasonably believe it necessary to use deadly force to protect their lives. The evidence shows that the occupants of the residence held a reasonable fear of imminent death or serious bodily harm to themselves and others and that both Everette and Skinner had unlawfully and forcefully entered the residence of the occupants. ... Furthermore, the general rules of self-defense and defense of others in North Carolina allow for the use of deadly force when the individual actually, or honestly, believed in the need to defend him or others from death or great bodily injury and the individual's belief is reasonable in light of the circumstances as they appeared to him at the time."
If those criteria sound familiar, it's because they are the basis for the so-called "stand your ground" laws in many states, including Florida, where evidence suggests that George Zimmerman, despite having been all but convicted by Obama, other race hustlers and the Leftmedia, may well be found to have justifiably protected himself by shooting Trayvon Martin. (If Zimmerman is not found "guilty," prepare for some inner-city turmoil.)
The editor of the Jacksonville Daily News concluded, "The innocent families of the two men who died, and their children in particular (of which Lee says there are nine between the two), must face the unfortunate consequences of the actions of these two men. They have been left to mourn the loss of their loved ones. The community should recognize that they, as much as anyone, are also victims. When individuals choose to break the law, they leave others behind to grieve their actions."
I certainly don't mean to spit on the graves of these two thugs, who will no longer pose a threat to anyone, but those occasions when the good guys win are worth noting. It is no small irony that this incident occurred on April 15, Tax Day. Perhaps Everette and Skinner thought they weren't getting enough of the graft from what Obama calls "redistributive justice" and were motivated by his "fairness doctrine" to redistribute wealth from another's home to their own.
Unfortunately for them, Skinner and Everette chose the residence of a gun owner, and moreover, a United States Marine. A clue to avoid this house might have been the word "Avengers" stenciled on the home's mailbox -- but they chose to use the backdoor, not the front. Indeed, life is tough, but it's even tougher when you're stupid. Likewise, life is short, but it it's even shorter when you're stupid.
The day after this incident, Jacksonville PD Chief Mike Yaniero announced increased patrols in the Marine's neighborhood in order to thwart future burglaries. However, I suspect that even if there are absolutely no patrols, the crime rate there will now be ZERO. And regarding police patrols and deadly threats, as this incident clearly demonstrates, when seconds count, law enforcement assistance is only minutes away.