The charges were dropped because he didn't break the law, in our state its legal to kill someone in defense of someone else's house.

He didn't have to act in self defense, but according to him he was.

He said he told them to freeze and if they moved they would die, they moved and thus the bullets hit them in the back as they were facing away or moving to face away. (I assume to try and avoid being shot...)

We'll see i guess.

Our state legislature took up the proposal after the incident but due to the controversy surrounding it they decide to wait until after the investigation was completed to show their was no misconduct of Joe's part.

Yeah, yeah, I get it.

And what if he saw me breaking in to my own house, and mistook me for a burglar?

The only time I've been in Texas is for layovers. Fortunately they don't allow guns in the airport.

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"Jesus said: I have cast fire upon the world, and behold I guard it until it is ablaze."
Gospel of Thomas

That's something else the state will look into at some point i assume.

But i think that's a federal law.

Then you may well have gotten shot...the general idea is not to break into your own house i guess.

But why not knock on your neighbor's door and explain it to him or her on either side, that should help, and say you're gonna climb in through the window.

Its a highly unlikely scenario though.

The problem I've had all along is that the guy told the 911 operator that he was going to kill them. That certainly suggests to me that he was walking out of his house with one goal in mind, regardless of whether or not they stopped when he told them to.

I'm all about private gun ownership and the proper use of a firearm to protect life and property, but that's a law that needs to be changed...

I think the law they were debating related to was if you were driving and someone tried to car-jack you or steal your radio from outside the car you could shoot them to stop them or fire at the car if they were driving in it etc, its not something that will lead to car mechanics getting shot.

The law itself is broad ranging again, and allows for open and third party defense but you're beyond slippery slopes if you think its gonna end up with your local garage going up in flames.

I really shouldn't have to explain to anyone that I am about to break in to my own house. And like I said, there have been a few times in my life when I've had to do just that - break in to my own house. Accidents happen... you leave your keys on your dresser, walk out the door, and it locks behind you. If I happen to live next door to a guy like this, who is willing to shoot someone in the back, it really doesn't seem all that unlikely that he could mistake me for a burglar.

Excellent point...

Sure, it could and accidents do happen like with your keys.

But you gotta bear in mind this is a law in Texas and not NY.

We have a lot of small towns with residents who all know one another, who recognise each other and we would realise if someone was an intruder or not.

In some of our towns if someone comes into the town there's no way residents would know, so a stranger will be recognised. Most ofour properties outside the big city are generally not even that of a residential area, we have space between them and land upon which an intruder can be spotted.

And we have no problems with mistakes taking place either, there's yet to be a single accident due to mistaken identity or mistaking the owner etc.

In NY you have a lot of highrise appartments, flats etc, so this would be a tougher law to stop abuse or mistakes from taking place with. There are outta towners everywhere and generally everyone is nasty as everyone else so its difficult to tell friend from foe.

I find it interesting that you compare the state of Texas with the city of New York.

This picture was taken in Texas:




This photo was taken in New York:




The fact of the matter is that high-rises and rural homes exist in both...

pssst... I don't live in NY my friend Born and raised in CT, and just moved back after being in NYC for 9 years.

Anyway, we have our fair share of small towns here in the Northeast. I know what you're talking about as far as everyone knowing one another... I used to own a place in Maine in a very small town (population of about 600), and everyone eventually knew who I was. But they didn't know me at first, and there were a few people in the neighborhood who suspected I was up to no good when they saw me carrying stuff out of the house. And you know what they did? They came over and introduced themselves.

Of course, I wasn't crawling through a window, and I didn't have dark skin, but hopefully you'll get my point.

Yeah i know you moved, its just the analogy works best in NYC i believe as it has the highest proportion of all overall properties being high rise in the entire land i believe.

However that aside, your statement about introductions probably hits the nail on the head, in a small town you're bound to notice if a house goes up on the market, thus someone expects someone new moving in, and the likelyhood is they may figure you may have not got a new set of keys or whatever if they notice you climbing in through the window when you've just moved. If they have met you that is.

Also in a small friendly town folks are more than likely to come round and say hello anyway.

But in practicallity, with this law, its very unlikely someone will just shoot, they'll probably yell to freeze or to raise their hands so they can see who it is, if you don't oblige then maybe they may shoot because they suspect its an intruder. Horn knew this pair were burglars.

Btw i love the fact they suspected you were upto no good because "they saw you carrying boxes out"... If that's the standard i'm sure they're gonna be thrilled with your other habbits!