shooterx10
August 29, 2003, 12:30 PM
Modbee.com
Fearful residents lock, load
By JEFF JARDINE
The recent rash of violent home invasion robberies frightens valley residents, and rightfully so.
"It strikes pure panic for a good reason," Stanislaus County Sheriff Les Weidman said. "Theft or a burglary -- that (makes you mad). But it doesn't affect you like when someone comes into your home and someone in your family is sexually assaulted. Or, you're dipped into a hot tub until you give up information (where valuables are kept). It's a violation of your family and your home. It's a living hell."
And it's what finally will drive some people to buy guns -- even people who were once anti-gun.
But gun experts -- from arms dealers to gun safety instructors to law enforcement officials -- share this opinion:
Unless you're absolutely sure you can kill an intruder, don't have a gun in the house.
And no one -- no gun dealer, no psychologist -- really knows whether you can do that until that moment of truth.
"I assume I could (shoot an intruder)," said Paul Mangelos, who manages Barnwood Arms in Modesto. "But I don't know because I've never had to -- and I sell guns for a living."
"I can't tell that," said Rich Shubbert, owner of On Target Firearms Instruction of Modesto. He teaches gun safety and educates people who apply for concealed weapon permits. "It's up to each individual's emotional makeup."
Too often, he said, gun owners believe a weapon alone will scare off intruders. They don't think they'll actually need to pull the trigger.
"I tell them that's a bad philosophy," said Shubbert, who said he's had many recent calls from women seeking gun training. "A gun is nothing you bluff with. You pull it, be willing to use it."
Why? While a homeowner might grab a gun because he thinks someone could be in the house, the intruder is a criminal with bad intentions.
"The homeowner thinks he's defending himself and his family, but the people who do this (home invasions) have probably lived a life with violence that your average citizen hasn't," sheriff's Lt. Jim Silva said. "And (the crooks) feel like they're defending themselves against the homeowner, if that makes any sense. But that's the way they think."
Homeowners have shot and killed intruders on numerous occasions in the valley. A few examples:
# In 1996, a Modesto resident killed two San Jose men during a home invasion robbery.
# On Thanksgiving 1997, a Modesto man foiled a burglary by killing one intruder and wounding another.
# Last year, a Modestan grabbed a shotgun and killed an intruder who held him and his wife hostage.
But more often, the intruders are in control.
Residents have been shot, killed, beaten, sexually assaulted and humiliated in various crimes over the years.
Home invaders brutalized a 93-year-old Empire woman in 1993, breaking one of her kneecaps and stealing $2,000 in cash.
And in 1992, intruders stabbed Steven Somiri of Salida 20 times when he tried to fight back. They severed his spinal cord in two places.
Somiri, who was 16 years old when the attack occurred, needed five years of physical therapy before he could walk again. Somiri, now 27, believes that he could now kill to defend himself.
"I feel more strongly about it now," he said. "You have to have hate to actually do that."
But he still doesn't own a gun. An aluminum baseball bat is his defensive weapon of choice.
"After what happened to me -- being stabbed and left for dead -- I'm more into having the person suffer," Somiri said. "And they're going to suffer more if they're a vegetable in prison than if they're dead."
Shubbert and other gun safety experts recommend that citizens develop good family safety plans in the home and get alarm systems that can't be disabled when would-be crooks cut the telephone lines.
Still, many scared valley residents will opt for guns, Sheriff Weidman said.
They'll need to find the right kind of weapon, he said. They'll need to get proper gun training. They'll need to learn about the legalities of shooting someone in self-defense. They'll need to keep the weapons out of the hands of children.
But before any of that, Weidman said, they should know whether they have the resolve to use it.
"When you've made the decision that you're willing to kill somebody to protect your family, then go ahead," he said. :fire:
Jeff Jardine's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in Local News. He can be reached at 578-2383 or jjardine@modbee.com.
Posted on 08/24/03 06:45:10
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/7339722p-8262096c.html
Fearful residents lock, load
By JEFF JARDINE
The recent rash of violent home invasion robberies frightens valley residents, and rightfully so.
"It strikes pure panic for a good reason," Stanislaus County Sheriff Les Weidman said. "Theft or a burglary -- that (makes you mad). But it doesn't affect you like when someone comes into your home and someone in your family is sexually assaulted. Or, you're dipped into a hot tub until you give up information (where valuables are kept). It's a violation of your family and your home. It's a living hell."
And it's what finally will drive some people to buy guns -- even people who were once anti-gun.
But gun experts -- from arms dealers to gun safety instructors to law enforcement officials -- share this opinion:
Unless you're absolutely sure you can kill an intruder, don't have a gun in the house.
And no one -- no gun dealer, no psychologist -- really knows whether you can do that until that moment of truth.
"I assume I could (shoot an intruder)," said Paul Mangelos, who manages Barnwood Arms in Modesto. "But I don't know because I've never had to -- and I sell guns for a living."
"I can't tell that," said Rich Shubbert, owner of On Target Firearms Instruction of Modesto. He teaches gun safety and educates people who apply for concealed weapon permits. "It's up to each individual's emotional makeup."
Too often, he said, gun owners believe a weapon alone will scare off intruders. They don't think they'll actually need to pull the trigger.
"I tell them that's a bad philosophy," said Shubbert, who said he's had many recent calls from women seeking gun training. "A gun is nothing you bluff with. You pull it, be willing to use it."
Why? While a homeowner might grab a gun because he thinks someone could be in the house, the intruder is a criminal with bad intentions.
"The homeowner thinks he's defending himself and his family, but the people who do this (home invasions) have probably lived a life with violence that your average citizen hasn't," sheriff's Lt. Jim Silva said. "And (the crooks) feel like they're defending themselves against the homeowner, if that makes any sense. But that's the way they think."
Homeowners have shot and killed intruders on numerous occasions in the valley. A few examples:
# In 1996, a Modesto resident killed two San Jose men during a home invasion robbery.
# On Thanksgiving 1997, a Modesto man foiled a burglary by killing one intruder and wounding another.
# Last year, a Modestan grabbed a shotgun and killed an intruder who held him and his wife hostage.
But more often, the intruders are in control.
Residents have been shot, killed, beaten, sexually assaulted and humiliated in various crimes over the years.
Home invaders brutalized a 93-year-old Empire woman in 1993, breaking one of her kneecaps and stealing $2,000 in cash.
And in 1992, intruders stabbed Steven Somiri of Salida 20 times when he tried to fight back. They severed his spinal cord in two places.
Somiri, who was 16 years old when the attack occurred, needed five years of physical therapy before he could walk again. Somiri, now 27, believes that he could now kill to defend himself.
"I feel more strongly about it now," he said. "You have to have hate to actually do that."
But he still doesn't own a gun. An aluminum baseball bat is his defensive weapon of choice.
"After what happened to me -- being stabbed and left for dead -- I'm more into having the person suffer," Somiri said. "And they're going to suffer more if they're a vegetable in prison than if they're dead."
Shubbert and other gun safety experts recommend that citizens develop good family safety plans in the home and get alarm systems that can't be disabled when would-be crooks cut the telephone lines.
Still, many scared valley residents will opt for guns, Sheriff Weidman said.
They'll need to find the right kind of weapon, he said. They'll need to get proper gun training. They'll need to learn about the legalities of shooting someone in self-defense. They'll need to keep the weapons out of the hands of children.
But before any of that, Weidman said, they should know whether they have the resolve to use it.
"When you've made the decision that you're willing to kill somebody to protect your family, then go ahead," he said. :fire:
Jeff Jardine's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in Local News. He can be reached at 578-2383 or jjardine@modbee.com.
Posted on 08/24/03 06:45:10
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/7339722p-8262096c.html