This morning, I saw this wonderful diary, highlighting two very different approaches to political sign vandalism.
Here's the graphic illustration:
But the Republican response reared its ugly head in Warren, Ohio, when Kenneth Rowles, 50, decided he'd had enough: some teenage boys kicked over his McCain lawn sign, and it was the second time it happened.
So Kenny got his gun.
A pair of teenage boys thought they were playing a prank by knocking down a John McCain campaign sign Saturday afternoon and yelling, "This is for Obama" to the homeowner.
Rowles was outside, and witnessed this. It was the second time it had happened, and he was pissed.
Rowles went into his 1237 Dover St. home in Warren Township, got a .22-caliber rifle and went back to the porch to confront the boys at about 2 p.m.
He claimed that he never aimed at any people or vehicles, but
Nonetheless, at about 11 a.m. Sunday, the mother of one of the boys called police — saying her nephew, Kyree Flowers, 17, of 1205 Dover, had been shot once in the arm, and that her tan GMC SUV had been hit by two other bullets.
Flowers received a minor injury from the bullet and was treated at a local hospital Sunday.
Kyree's cousin Patrick, who was one of the boys, said he and the others were fooling around, laughing, and he got out of the car and kicked the sign over. Kyree told him to turn around, when he saw Rowles struggling with the action of his gun, trying to shoot at them. He jumped back into the car, and said that Rowles then fired several shots at them through the car windows.
Rowles was arrested Sunday and charged with felonious assault, a second-degree felony, punishable by up to eight years in prison upon conviction.
He pleaded innocent Monday in Warren Municipal Court, and Judge Thomas Gysegem set bond at $10,000. He ordered Rowles to stay away from the boys and not use any weapons if he is able to get out of Trumbull County Jail on bond. Warren Township police confiscated all of the weapons in Rowles’ home: 11 long guns (meaning rifles and shotguns) and four pistols.
Just another law-abiding hunter. Guns don't shoot people.
Rowles then proceeded to contact the police, to ask about laws protecting his lawn signs. He neglected to let them in on his little enforcement mission, though - they found out about that later.
With one week of this left, I'll leave you with another lawn sign, one that was diaried earlier today...
that one, I like.