'Shoot first' laws make it tougher for burglars in the United States

Most people don't consider what a burgler is willing to do to take your stuff. Even if that means hurting your dog or killing you and your family. I don't have house insurance, so If i lose everything, how do I replace it? Better to not get ripped off. In the old west, they didn't have the crime tolorated by us today. everyone carried a gun. It kept mouths shut and people out of where they don't belong.

And the wild west is a standard for civilization???

No thanks. It was a primitive culture and I'm gald it's dead.

Having said that I would shoot a burgler. But that's not the same as everyone carrying a gun everywhere everytime.

Seems like a dangerous law to me. Want to kill someone? Invite them over to your house, and make it look like they broke in, then, just shoot 'em!

What if your wife leaves home, only to return earlier than expected - she changed her mind, or she forgot something. You come out guns blasting to get the "intruder" and you've killed your spouse.

Perhaps the bigger problem is the access to guns both by burglars and homeowners?

I may be in the minority here, but I'm from Texas, where gun ownership is pretty common. There are many isolated and rural areas where owning a gun makes more sense than relying on outside sources to protect you. I've been to many homes where a sign outside clearly states, "We don't call the police." And it's not because they're anti-establishment, the police simply won't get there in time. If someone is robbing your house and could potentially hurt you and your loved ones, you should be able to stop them by any means necessary.

How about less-than-lethal weapons? The laws should recognize intent. If you have a weapon loaded with conventional ammo, you should accept the fact that it is in a small way, premeditated. Now, rubber bullets and bean bags are a different matter. A head shot or well placed chest shot can be lethal, but a shoulder or leg shot is not a cake walk.

Shooting first with less-than-lethal weapons seems like something I can stand behind.

What if the burglar is your daughters asshole boyfriend? Are you really ready to kill him? Maybe, but even though he is an asshole, he still has a right not to get shot through the spine or heart just for trying to bone your hot daughter.

hamburglar!!!

First of all I disagree with the idea of shooting a burglar with a bean bag or a rubber bullet; that's just asinine. If you shoot a burglar with a bean bag, or a rubber bullet, he's most likely going to pull out a glock and blow your stupid head off. I think it comes down to intention, if someone enters your house, your home, where your children sleep, with the intention of robbing you, or otherwise, you should be able to defend yourself. If you put a bullet in the robber's head, he's less likely to try to sue you.

Tori, I suppose you're telling me convicts and people with the intent to commit a crime go about getting their weapons the same way I go about getting my hunting rifles?

I think not.

If someone breaks into your house in the middle of the night, then what good intent can they possible have? When i was six a man broke into my house with the intent of killing my mom. She managed to beat him away, but i still remember waking uo to screaming, fighting, and a freakin eight-inch bowie knife on the floor. If someone busts into my home in the middle of the night, screw em', hes dead already. However on the other side of that, people who own guns should have the sense of self to be able to remain calm in a situation like that. Realize if a burglar is breaking in, he probably wants to steal your stuff and get outta there as quick as possible. As long as your asleep, he probably wont care about ya. So if a gunowner is taught this, he'll know to stay calm, assess the situation, and handle it accordingly. That way we dont have and spouses with shattered spines or asshole boyfriends with holes in their chests.

To those of you who think that being shot with a rubber bullet is merely going to piss off the would-be-burglar, you are mistaken. That would-be-burglar is going to go to the hospital, at least. The benefit is, if you shoot your own daughter, on accident, you might not kill her. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/30/national/main2867791.shtml this guy, and his daughter, were very lucky...

Im curious as to how being shot with a rubber bullet would put a man in the hospital (unless, of course, he were shot in the head, face, or groin.)
Without the bullet piercing the skin how could it do much more than cause severe bruising, maybe internal bleeding or something? fill me in, im skeptical.

how can rubber bullets cause someone to go to the hospital? the bullets, be they buckshot or whatever, are fired at truly incredible force. if you're firing at short range, like in your house, the rubber bullets hit at full force. the blunt force, even without entering the body, can cause real damage. severe enough bruising and internal bleeding is serious. just imagine being hit with a baseball bat; that can cause real damage. imagine being hit with a very tiny baseball bat, 10,000 times harder than anybody you know could swing a bat. if a shotgun, which is what i would recommend, imagine 200 of them hitting someone.

Hmm, well that would certainly be enough to deter most burglars. But then of cousre the problem arises of the burglar having a real gun. You'll have to incapacitate him with your rubber buckshot, or he'll kill you with his real buckshot (not that a robber would have a shotgun, more realistiacally a pistol, but you get the point.)