A while back I wrote about how Gun Control would not happen until the general population changed its view on gun use. (http://www.dailykos.com/...)
In that post I showed a few positive changes in the world where gun owners were being charged with crimes for using their guns in "self defense" that turned out not to be self defense. (Such as shooting a young lady through a locked door when they knocked on the door looking for help with a broken down car)
Self defense is a moral use of force possibly resulting in death, in my view, when it is to protect the life of another or yourself. Murder is the immoral use of force resulting in death. Killing someone is not wrong if it is to preserve the life of others who have not used force or the threat of force illegally against another.
We see every state has very clear laws that allow ANY person to resist being killed when attacked. Gun advocates claim that so many crimes are happening that people need unrestricted access to guns with large rates of fire to "protect" their loved ones. But where is the line between "self defense" and "murder"?
This is something that has to be looked at by experts after the event to make sure it was not just a gun nut shooting people because he had some flimsy excuse.
Too often we read about a gun owner self defensing people who broke windows or cars. Too often these gun owners are let go. In New York, a gun owner "self defensed" an unarmed accused rapist begin chased by police, several times in his back yard. (rather than locking the doors and defending his family in side, he went out and shot the man down) He was arrested and gun advocates say he did the right thing.
Recently more police departments have started taking more intense looks at people's claims of "self-defense". In Cleveland they recently arrested a man who shot (and killed) not just one person breaking into an empty building, but who three times has shot and wounded or killed people. Three times since Nov 2012 he has shot and killed or wounded people. Two times he was given a pass and never charged with a crime or faced any repercussion from his actions.
But after the third time, the police have taken him to jail. They are investigating this. http://www.wtvm.com/...
But i'm sure the pro-gun types see him as a hero, gunning down anyone who even crosses his property line, with the knowledge that he is supported in this by society…because a simple alarm would not be the same as gunning someone down.