Texas Castle Bill my opinon/gun on tv

[kjeff50cal]

I expressed my opinon, what little they included.... and they got my name wrong, it is Kim
(ie the book by Kipling) Mayes.....

The bright side is my .38 Colt Police Positve Special (see video and
yes it is a CPPS not a Det. special) functioned flawlessly for the
camera (not a movie prop ). I OTHO need some more trigger time .



http://www.khou.com/video/newsmore.html


Bill could allow more use of deadly force

10:53 PM CST on Wednesday, March 7, 2007

By Shern-Min Chow / 11 News


Fifteen states have already passed it, and 12 others are considering

it—including Texas.

You know the old phrase a man is king of his castle? Well now a

proposed bill would extend that to include your business, vehicle and

extend your right to use deadly force to protect it.

For many, Texas is where the Wild West began.


Now a new kind of legal ammunition may be in sight.

The target? To arm law-abiding citizens with more firepower.

“I think it’s good; it’s excellent,” gun enthusiast Ken Mayes said.

“We should have had this a long time ago,” said gun safety instructor

John Lewis said.

Currently Texas law says, if possible, you have a “duty to retreat” to

avoid using deadly force. The new castle bill would remove that.

For Caroline Hardin, the fight against this bill is personal. In 1998,

Steve Hardin, a wrecker driver, was killed when trying to tow an

illegally parked car.

“This bill is going to give everybody a license to murder,” she said.

Barry Crawford claimed he thought his car was being stolen. He went

into his home—not to retreat, but to grab a rifle.

A jury convicted Crawford of first-degree murder, but he got no prison

time. With the castle bill?

“He probably wouldn’t even have gotten the 60 days in jail or the

probation,” Hardin said. “He probably would’ve just gotten off

scot-free.”

“This bill is a solution to a problem that doesn’t really exist in

Texas,” Harris County District Attorney Appellate Chief Bill Delmore

said.

The Harris County District Attorney’s office says current law

adequately protects those trying to protect themselves or their

property, but prosecutors worry this bill will only help criminals

cover up their crimes.

Delmore testified last week in Austin.

“This presumption is basically going to result with some crooks getting

away from murder,” he said.

Prosecutors biggest concern? Adding a section that creates a

presumption deadly force is immediately necessary to prevent a variety

of crimes if you think the crime is about to happen.

Their view is crooks could escape by saying, “I thought he was about to

pull a knife, I thought I had to kill him; he doesn’t actually have

knife,” Delmore said.

Supporters though remember the fear when Texas legalized concealed

handgun licenses, or CHLs, in 1996.

“They said blood will run in the streets and it hasn’t happened,” Mayes

said.

Ken Dexter is a CHL instructor.

“I don’t think they’re gonna see anymore problems than what they see

today,” Dexter said.

He likes the bill, particularly removing any duty to retreat, but said

it won’t create the wild Wild West because of human nature.

“Knowing the consequences of using deadly force, what it would cost me

monetarily and also mentally, I would probably chose to retreat

myself,” Dexter said.

The Hardins think that’s because the NRA backs the measure.

“They’re going have more people buy more guns, they’ll have more money,

more people join their organizations,” Hardin said.

Supporters, however, wholeheartedly disagree.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

The Hardins think that’s because the NRA backs the measure.
“They’re going have more people buy more guns, they’ll have more money, more people join their organizations,” Hardin said.

Hmmm... a variant of a common talking point/complaint about the NRA on THR and other gun boards being repeated on TV by an anti-gun advocate. Feel special now that they are tailoring their comments specifically to sew distrust among gun owners?

 

[MechAg94]

For Caroline Hardin, the fight against this bill is personal. In 1998,
Steve Hardin, a wrecker driver, was killed when trying to tow an
illegally parked car. “This bill is going to give everybody a license to murder,” she said. Barry Crawford claimed he thought his car was being stolen. He went
into his home—not to retreat, but to grab a rifle. A jury convicted Crawford of first-degree murder, but he got no prison time. With the castle bill?
“He probably wouldn’t even have gotten the 60 days in jail or the
probation,” Hardin said. “He probably would’ve just gotten off
scot-free.”

Um..Shooting a wrecker driver because you thought your car was being stolen sounds like a BS claim. This story makes no sense as related to this law. Where was the threat?

 

[MechAg94]

The Harris County District Attorney’s office says current law
adequately protects those trying to protect themselves or their
property, but prosecutors worry this bill will only help criminals
cover up their crimes. Delmore testified last week in Austin.
“This presumption is basically going to result with some crooks getting
away from murder,” he said. Prosecutors biggest concern? Adding a section that creates a presumption deadly force is immediately necessary to prevent a variety of crimes if you think the crime is about to happen.
Their view is crooks could escape by saying, “I thought he was about to
pull a knife, I thought I had to kill him; he doesn’t actually have
knife,” Delmore said.

I can understand his argument, but his example is crap. You still have to justify lethal force, you just don't have justify why you couldn't retreat. Saying someone looked at you funny is not likely to go over well with a jury or anyone else.

 

[MechAg94]

Oh well, the liability protection is what I am looking forward to. I worry about that possibility almost more than having to use a gun.

 

[frostbiker]

This smacks of a hatchet job by one of the more pro-gun newsrooms in Houston. Saw this last night and had to laugh.

The car theft example is NOT a good example of 'castle doctrine' or what it will help us do. What? They couldn't find a story about a home invasion where the tables were turned? Plenty of those going on around town. And FAIK, the Harris County DA is definitely not a friend of CHL, gun rights, or castle doctrine. The rest of the people were just spewing forth sound-bites and snippets to generate news and attention. Just another slammed together piece of sensational journalism.

About the only thing worth noting was the quote from Ken Dexter. Only reason they used him is that the anchor, Greg Hurst, took his CHL course and is a regular at the range he teaches at.

 

[mbt2001]

Hooking cars is a dangerous business...

I am also looking for the civil liability part of the law. It seems nutty that someone can break into your house and if the DA is in the "mood" he can arrest and send you to a grand jury. Also that the family of the wacko that kicked in your door can sue you....

Nah, the criminal lobby is the one that is trying to protest this bill... oh yeah and the lawyers too.

 

[kjeff50cal]

For those of you who have not seen the video Hardin's wreaker looks to be one of those favored by repo-men, with a hide-away-rig. You would not know it was a wreaker (just a pick-up) until you hit a switch. Very strange rig for just a wreaker driver.

 

[1911austin]

Adding a section that creates a presumption deadly force is immediately necessary to prevent a variety of crimes if you think the crime is about to happen.
Their view is crooks could escape by saying, “I thought he was about to
pull a knife, I thought I had to kill him; he doesn’t actually have
knife,” Delmore said.

This guy sounds really concerned about the misuse of this pending change in Texas law.

One would think that instead of going on camera and instilling fear in the public by blatantly misrepresenting what the new law would mean, he would be trying to educate the public. He is making sound like it would be “OK” to shoot someone who gave you a strange look.

 

[Sam Adams]

Oh well, the liability protection is what I am looking forward to. I worry about that possibility almost more than having to use a gun.

Me, too. I'm not worried about whether a shoot that I might make will land me in jail - I think that I know the difference pretty well, and that a jury would see it my way.

No, I'm worried that even if I shoot some hopped-up crackhead whose broken down my door and is coming up the stairs with a machete to do violence to me and my family in my home, his widow or mother will sue me. That can happen under current law, and can't under the proposed one. This MUST be passed, and (being Texas) it is highly likely to do so, thankfully. This beats the crap out of my previous residence, the Dark and Fascist PRNJ.

 

[LawBot5000]

I dont see how a light sentence in Crawford has anything to do with a problem in the law. If you dont like it, bother the judge who gave him the sentence not the legislature.

As a matter of law, the guy was guilty and he was unable to appeal his way out of the conviction or his restitution obligations. There isnt a problem the legislature can solve here unless you want to take away all sentencing discretion from judges. But we have tried manadatory sentencing rules and they produce more injustice than they remedy.

edit: and the facts of crawford were pretty damning. The guy with the gun came out and struck him a number of times. He then loaded the gun and when the tow truck guy picked up a shovel to knock the rifle aside, he shot him. This took place in a trailer park where the guy had his truck parked on the lawn of a neighbor and refused to move it.

my hunch is that the judge thought that paying restitution to the victim's family was more important than having the guy rot in jail

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

So how did the news lady get away with shooting without eye protection?

 

[MechAg94]

Well, the Castle Doctrine deals with self defense. If you initiate the altercation in the first place and initiate use of deadly weapons, it is difficult to claim self defense.

 

[FieroCDSP]

I agree that the wrecker/repo example is terrible. Last time I checked, Castle laws apply more to inside the home. How many of them extend to pieces of property (i.e. the car sitting in your yard) that you're not actually in at the time.

This next comment isn't taking THR, but it's my opinion. The DA in Harris County is a total moron, who's more interested in making law rather than practicing it. He's trying to get a name for himself for political influence, and in that respect, he's probably doing pretty well. The problem is that he's doing it in a pro-gun state. He could go to Boston and do the same thing there, and end up as a state Senator in less than a week. Instead, he's taking on a lot of people that like 2A, and making a wreck of his county.
I figured all this out before I saw the video.