Asking for Permission to Defend Your Life

As my wife and I headed out to dinner tonight, she told me about a young mother that shot and killed an intruder while on the phone with 911.  She had only caught part of the story and thought this had occurred locally, but in fact it happened in Oklahoma on New Year's Eve.  The local press had just run the AP story.

I'd like to be able to say that I have mixed feelings about this, but I don't.  If there was anything I'm uneasy about it is the fact that the woman was asking if it was OK to shoot the intruder should he make it into her home.

"Hello?  Emergency services? Is it Ok with you guys if I shoot a guy who is breaking into my home to do God-only-knows-what to me and my newborn?"  In the spectrum between raping and murdering me or just really needing to borrow a cup of sugar, I'm thinking it's safe to assume the former.

As some of you may know, I attended a Mennonite church in my youth.  Think Amish with a modern lifestyle.  That isn't an accurate comparison, but from my experience with most people's knowledge of the Amish it works.  These are people that as a matter of course would rather get raped and murdered (actually quite proud of that fact) than to violently defend themselves.  I loved the church and it's members, but I disagree on this fundamental basic tenet of the faith.  I believe that any idiot can die for their beliefs, but it is difficult to kill for them.  Well, technically the killing part is probably way easy, but the long term ramifications are the difficult part.  My joining the Air Force and entering into one of the few combat career fields was not a lightly made choice.

I'm speaking my own mind here, but legalities be damned if you come into my home with the intent to cause me or mine any harm.  Luckily....well, maybe not so much luck....I live in Idaho.  While we do not have a specific Castle Doctrine, we do not have a specific Duty to Retreat.  Idaho law simply classifies all this under "justifiable homicide", which in my opinion pretty much falls under the premise that "asking forgiveness is better than asking permission" as far as I'm concerned.  Most, if not all, of my possessions are just "stuff" and while I'm not willing to give it away, I doubt anything is worth killing over.  If my pets or wife...or me for that matter is at risk, I'm not asking for permission.

My apologies for the wonderful commercial before the news story.