Fraters Libertas

There's Nothing Wrong With Shooting...As Long As The Right People Get Shot

I love being a lifetime member of the NRA. The greatest joy is seeing the looks on people's faces when you announce your membership in "mixed" company. They have a bit of a surprised look, then you can see the wheels turning and you imagine them thinking "Oh, he's one of THOSE."

But I also love getting the monthly magazine that comes with my membership: America's First Freedom. There are plenty of lively pieces about encroaching legislation, cool ads for various weaponry and my personal favorite, the Armed Citizen column.

This column details the stories the MSM usually ignores (or buries on back pages)--the ones where ordinary citizens blast worthless criminals to kingdom come. To wit:

Robert Birstwhistle had been awakened about 1 a.m. to the sounds of his front door being kicked in. He took a pistol and went downstairs, warning the intruder to stop or "he was going to get what was coming to him." The intruder however, kept trying to get in and eventually broke down the door. Birstwhistle fired once, and the intruder fell to the floor. When police arrived, the intruder was pronounced dead at the scene; he was later identified as James Rosebush, who lived only blocks away.

--The Indianapolis Star, 2/18/05

I love stories like that. When I watch Cops, they often talk about "taking another gun off the streets" as if that has anything to do with making the citzenry safer. But when a law-abiding citizen blows a criminal away, that criminal will never try to break down another door or commit a crime of any kind. And that is a victory.

God bless Robert Birstwhistle.