New Yorker gets in trouble for defending family

[Q9]

Quote:
Seriously? He did what any rational person would do: He fired his weapon at the GROUND first. That doesn't sound like panic. That sounds much more like staying relatively calm and sensible. I know for a fact that if I were in his position I would have opened fire AT the thugs. Hopefully going for a non-lethal hit to the knee, but knowing me... Well, a 30 round magazine vs 20-25 guys in a crowd, you're bound to hit something. A lot of somethings.

Why do I get the feeling that if this had been with a handgun or shotgun he would be almost universally supported?

Have we really come to the point that a self-proclaimed libertarian is arguing against a completely legitimate defense of person and property?

 

[DuckLady]

Please don't make this into politics.

Thank you in advance.

 

[PineappleMama]

But Q, they've already said that there wasn't a 20+ person mob attacking... that it was 3 or so and that AFTER he opened fire THEN others came. Had he not opened fire then likely those three would have maybe done some blathering/posturing and when the sirens got close would have taken off.

Instead they still took off, aren't getting so much as a slap on the hand, and the Good Guy is facing problems. AND now those punks know his security, know there's an assault rifle in the house (that I bet they'd LOVE to have), they get to snicker over HIM getting busted, and they might just want retribution because he embarassed/insulted/whatever their warped minds think them.

Those kind of results makes me figure that the action taken wasn't the right one. *shrug* Heck we'll probably never know the whole story, what paper EVER reports the whole truth? But from what we know it seems like maybe he jumped the gun a bit.

 

[nonseq]

He fired his assault rifle at the ground (so he says) on Long Island. A densely populated place where a stray bullet could pop some innocent bystander. Even where I live, there are folks who find bullet holes in their houses from people shooting into the air or at signs or at cans or what have you.

He may have been thinking about protecting his person and his property but he surely wasn't reasoning very well if he wasn't considering the effects his actions would have on his neighbors and his community. Not taking the effect of actions on those outside his immediate family and situations means he wasn't utilizing the principle of enlightened self-interest.

 

[Q9]

Quote:
What's so freaky about it being an assault rifle? It's just a rifle designed to be compact enough for combat. It's less powerful than quite a few hunting rifles, and certainly less powerful than a shotgun. The only things that make it more dangerous are: It's more compact and it's easier to obtain a high-capacity magazine. I honestly don't understand the fear of "assault weapons." Actually, I take that back. They are, after all, associated with warfare. Still, they're not more lethal than the average deer rifle or 12-gauge.

Also, the chances of a bullet fired into a lawn being able to ricochet are pretty slim.

Plus, AK rounds typically fragment on impact.

Again, I ask, was he supposed to NOT fire the gun? The goons could have rushed him if they thought he didn't have the guts. If anyone wasn't absolutely intent on harm, they'd back off at the SIGHT of a gun like that.

 

[Q9]

Out of curiousity, does anyone plan on posting an article or something that demonstrates that there were only two or three, and that more only came AFTER he fired? Every article I've seen says that it was about 20 or so.

 

[PineappleMama]

I think I need to google, I was thinking the main concern with AK-47s was the fact that they rapid fire... not single... so that if you accidentally hit the trigger (happens WAY too often) rather than just shooting ONE member of your own family you could take out the whole clan before you removed your finger from the trigger.

But you didn't mention that at all as a concern for this particular gun so I'm thinking maybe I need to do a little more research into this one before I go rambling any more.

 

[Q9]

Quote:
Suddenly your position becomes MUCH more understandable.

Full-auto (or Class III) weapons are illegal without extremely hard-to-get permits. However, assault weapons are readily available in most states semi-automatic, like most rifles. His AK was almost definitely semi-auto. Well, now that THAT little misunderstanding is cleared up...

 

[The Poultry Peanut]

Quote:
Unless he had a Class 3 licence it would have been a semi-auto, not a select fire or full auto.

 

[The Poultry Peanut]

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