While shooting someone over a plant or some yard items seems a bit overkill,
so to speak (pun intended)
but if the guy (thief) didn't do something he KNEW was wrong,
he wouldn't have had to endure the possible "poor judgment" of someone whose plant/belongings he was stealing.
In this case, the guy with the gun apparently didn't so anything illegal,
and therefore being within his rights to protect his belongings on his own property,
to look upon him as using poor judgment isn't appropriate.
Especially since the perp goes on the guy's property to do it.
(Of course many of us would handle things differently, but personally I like the idea of a person having the rights to protect themselves & their property.) For in some states, a person doesn't even have the right to shoot someone who breaks all the way into their home & steals things or vandalizes. That is NOT a good law! It allows a person practically no way to protect themselves, their family & their home.
In this case the guy with the gun wasn't shooting at people for any reason other than someone stealing from him. (Plants were on the guys property, not on the street or something.) And from what I saw, these weren't small plants!
Indeed, I think I would have handled things differently, but again the guy was following the law as far as what he could do to protect himself & his property. If you look at the pictures and how far onto the guys property this thief went, & the size of the pot/plant, indeed this is no small plant or item!
(Look at the pictures people!)
So here this guy is driving home & sees these plants/pots & what, decides he wants these for himself (or to sell!)? I could maybe excuse the behavior if he was picking a flower or even a sideshoot of a plant that was in a flower bed along the sidewalk, but this guy seems to have walked all the way up to the guys house & tried to take a huge pot/plant!
I will say that I think that people should be required to learn to shoot before being able to purchase a gun! We make people pass a test in order to get a drivers license, before they can purchase a car & drive. AND they need to renew that every now & then, especially when older or their ability comes into question. How is using a gun any less dangerous than driving?
But yes, I also believe that once a person learns to handle a gun properly, using it to protect themselves & their property (& family) is an alright thing to do.
Now indeed, I do question the law when it comes to belongings that are outside your home or vehicle, I do understand that property is property. Some people have real valuables on their property, and so protecting them on your land is no different than if they were in your home.
(Ortherwise, you wouldn't be in the right to stop someone from stealing your car, unless it was actually in your garage & not just parked on your driveway!)
I just hate to see what that homeowner would do if someone took something of real value!
We also don't know how many times this sort of thing has happened to him before either, so there is not enough info to judge his behavior.
My guess is that the "thief" has tried this thing before, or already even has a rap-sheet.
Again, while I likely wouldn't have shot the guy for it, I sure would have fired a warning shot & possibly shot his tires out, or at least held him for the cops... if I could have (unlikely as that is!).
And as I mentioned already, the thief wouldn't have had to worry about being shot at, if he wouldn't have committed a crime!
I don't understand why people now-a-days are more worried about the rights & welfare of the criminals & not the victims (the homeowner in this case), & their rights.
As for waiting until "home invasion", does that mean you can't stop someone from stealing your car? How about starting it on fire? Or how about spraypainting it all over?
I realize that shooting & possible death are a bit severe for such acts, but if you live in a "bad" neighborhood & see this & worse on a daily basis, what do you do then? When does the fear & terror of the situation become enough?
Is it any different if the perp is some little kid as compared to a group of gang members? Where does a person draw the line?
I would like to think I wouldn't have shot, but until we are in that situation & have to think fast on a moments notice, when fear or similar repeated experiences colors the situation,who knows how they would actually react?
Bottom line I think from all of this is don't steal & be careful if you do shoot.