Lessons We Won't Learn

Tornados are still tearing up the country as I write this, across Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, among other places. Houses and businesses and church buildings are flattened along with some loss of life. It's a tragedy that catches our attention.

There is a sadder aspect of all this fear and destruction however that follows on the heels of these twisters. It is the thieves and looters (we call them carpet baggers where I come from) that descend upon those who have been devestated. They are an embarrassment to the human spirit of compassion.

In the days following the twister destruction in Huntsville, Alabama just a couple weeks ago there was one such low life who paid a high price for his low living. One shop owner in Madison County had remained in his store for the night because of his fear that such predators might be aroused by the power outage and overwork for the police. Sure enough, he was right and that evening when his shop was broken into he shot the criminal, killing him on the spot and sending him to a fair and immediate judgment.

In some places of this country this might have gotten him arrested. Not in Madison County, Alabama. When pressed by the media for "what happens next?" news the Chief of Police promptly, plainly, and publicly  explained that... absolutely NOT was the store owner going to be arrested or even charged. He then followed up with the explanation (and herein I quote him as closely as my memory allows), "because a person has the right to protect himself and that which belongs to him at ANY time and ANY place." You gotta love that state.

Robberies and looting dropped into single digit occurrances nightly around that area. I do not understand the judges and juries around this country that are in the mood to punish citizens when criminals break in, threaten, steal, beat, rob, etc and then get hurt or maimed in the process. The criminal is rewarded with cash and the citizen is punished. Alabama, let me salute you one more time, and your Chief of Police.

One sad note to this story is that the police did take the shop owners gun as evidence. He begged them not to becasue someone else would come in and rob him, but the police apologized and took the weapon anyway. It was procedure. The weapon was evidence and had to go in.

What is the lesson here that we must learn, but have so much trouble with? There are actually two. One is a bumper sticker. When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns. It is a Bible verse. Laws are for the lawful. Evil men don't turn in their guns, only good lawful men do.

The second lesson comes from the experience of the shop owner. Even though he did nothing wrong and was not charged, he was disarmed by procedure. The lesson is that one gun for protection is good, two would have been better.