Via R. Neal comes loads of crap all in one hysterical story. Long and short is some trigger-happy dude in Texas shot and killed two guys who broke into his neighbor’s house. He called 911 prior to that and the conversation (caught on tape) went like this:
“I’ve got a shotgun, do you want me to stop them?”
“Nope, don’t do that,” replied the dispatcher. “Ain’t no property worth shooting somebody over, ok? … I’ve got officers coming out there. I don’t want you to go outside that house.”
“I understand that,” the caller replied, “but I have a right to protect myself too, sir, and you understand that. And the laws have been changed in this country since September the 1st, and you know it and I know it.”
After five minutes, the dispatcher was no longer able to restrain the caller, who stepped outside and shot both men, reporting, “Here it goes, buddy. You hear the shotgun clicking and I’m going. … Boom, you’re dead. … I had no choice.”
Now, that’s the first load of crap. Blowing someone away over property is sketchy at best and criminal at worse. The next load of crap is from David Edwards and Muriel Kane, the authors of the piece who note:
A so-called “castle doctrine” law recently passed in Texas allows people to use deadly force to protect their homes and property.
Texas’ castle doctrine law (seen here) does not allow for use of deadly force to protect homes and property. Rather, the law expands the areas in which there is no duty to retreat to homes, vehicles, and any place a person lawfully can be. There is no reference in the text of Texas’ castle doctrine law allowing deadly force in defense of property. Texas Penal Code Title 2, Chapter 9, Sec 42, which is not part of the castle doctrine bill, does. However, the circumstances in which deadly force is justified in defense of property are severely limited to:
(1) if he would be justified in using force against the other under Section 9.41; and
(2) when and to the degree he reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:
(A) to prevent the other’s imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during the nighttime, or criminal mischief during the nighttime; or
(B) to prevent the other who is fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the property; and
(3) he reasonably believes that:
(A) the land or property cannot be protected or recovered by any other means; or
(B) the use of force other than deadly force to protect or recover the land or property would expose the actor or another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.
Texas has some of the more lenient defense of property laws but they’re still pretty limiting. And have nothing to do with the castle doctrine bill.
Now here’s a serious issue I have with this whole ordeal. Sure, the authors of this piece get it wrong (as most journalists do when it comes to gun laws) but the shooter said:
I understand that,” the caller replied, “but I have a right to protect myself too, sir, and you understand that. And the laws have been changed in this country since September the 1st, and you know it and I know it.
Why would he think that a law that eliminates the duty to retreat instead justifies killing two burglars that were not an imminent threat to him and were not on his property? Probably because he heard that line repeated over and over by the anti-gunners in press coverage of the bill.
Update: Sebastian:
Maybe now it’s time to start being factual and doing research? Nah! Sensationalizing stories is easier and sells more papers.
Update 2: Via emdfl in comments, seems there’s also other versions of this story. Here’s another account with a much longer transcript.