Gun rights come with responsibilities

Paul Vandenburgh on his Talk 1300 radio show is defending the suburban Buffalo homeowner who shot and killed Albany teacher David Park, who had walked into his unlocked home at 1 a.m. It looks like Park, who was in the neighborhood for a party where he might have had a few drinks, wandered into the wrong house. Vandenburgh is not just defending the shooter, David D'Amico, but says he did the right thing when Park came after him despite his shouted warnings. It's an open question in my mind how much warning Park was given, since D'Amico obviously has an incentive now to claim he gave him ample; and the newspaper accounts don't say Park was coming after anyone, just walking downstairs toward the staircase from the top of which D'Amico shot him. Vandenburgh says D'Amico was likely nervous and not very familiar with firearms, which doesn't justify anything in my mind. I'm not saying he should necessarily be charged with a crime, and I don't want to see the U.S. go in the the direction of Britain, where homeowners have been successfully prosecuted for shooting burglars. But like the First Amendment, the Second Amendment comes with responsibilities, and their defenders should not endorse everything newspapers or gun owners do.

Comments

[Chris P,]

Re: Gun rights come with responsibilities

The shooting of David Park was a tragedy. I can't imagine what was going through his mind during the final moments of his life. Of course, we're all wondering if Mr. Park said anything at all such as..."am I in the right house?" or "I was looking for my party event".

Personally, I have walked into a wrong house before AND I distinctly remember at least two separate occasions when an unknown male mistakenly walked into my apartment.

When I entered the wrong house, I soon realized my error and became very apologetic to the residents there. However, I should add just to be as fair as I can, that it was during the day and I was also not under the influence of alcohol at the time. I can't actually say how that event made the homeowners feel but I can only imagine that they at least felt threatened in some way. But perhaps not either.

Now, on the other hand I can say that one early evening when I was sitting in the kitchen of my ground floor apartment, and an unknown male entered the unlocked door into my living room, I became alarmed. But before I could do any more than jump out of my chair, the man realized his own error and began apologizing profusely and then turned around and walked right back out. I cannot be certain but the man did not appear to be under the influence of anything.

After some speculation, I realized that there could have been a number of things that prompted the gentleman to open my front door and walk in. Perhaps, he knew the previous tenants, although he did not say so; or perhaps he had an incorrect address; or perhaps he was actually up to no good and was scared off by my presence.

I can't imagine how I would feel if I ever shot and killed somebody who had only mistakenly walked into the wrong house but otherwise was completely innocent of any intent of malevolence. I would most likely become extremely disturbed by my own actions and I'm certain that I would need professional psychological intervention. I know I would never be the same again.

Having said that, even if I WAS justified in the shooting of some perpetrator who was obviously a threat to my well-being, I would still be seriously disturbed, although perhaps not permanently. But I can't say that either with any certainty.

Death is final. I think that if we are allowed to own and use guns for defense, then regular and intense training should become mandatory. And I'm not talking about just purely written tests and licensing procedures.

My former husband achieved a black belt in Karate back when that was a long, difficult, and earned process. My own father was a police investigator for a time. Both of those individuals were trained to try and resolve and diffuse issues before they became escalated.

In conclusion, I can only agree that gun owners should be responsible and accountable for their actions. The topic of gun control per se'is a complicated issue and can only be viewed in terms of the current state of affairs and the conscious evolving of society. I don't believe that society can ever reach its full potential until it starts living the Golden Rule. And it's hard. Nobody's perfect. It takes cooperation, forgiveness, humility, hope, action, all that stuff.

Emotions are thick right now. A school teacher is the highest rank of society's valued members. At this point, I want to see shooter crucified. Thank goodness there are laws to protect me from myself.

[Bay Bed]

I'm really happy that you've made your own web resource and have actually posted your thoughts. I like your work and feel I can relate to what you've done. A lot of folks can't even imagine having such talent. I hope that you know how lucky you are. :) Good luck to you in all your aims. :)