Defending a neighbor’s property

Joe Horn, a man who killed two would be (or alleged) burglars after they broke into his neighbors house, was cleared by a Texas grand jury of any wrong doing. He called 911 when he saw them breaking in and eventually shot them when he thought they were getting away. Since the shooting, a debate has raged on whether his use of force was justified and whether he’s a racist.

I don’t think race or racism should enter into a discussion on whether his use of force was justified. I think accusing him of racism is a red herring. Saying that he wouldn’t have shot the burglars if they were white distracts from the issue of if he had the right (or a justifiable reason) to shoot the burglars. When the left feigns outrage over his actions being racist, they are  doing themselves a disservice. They are already putting people on the defensive and thus people who would otherwise listen to their arguments on why the use of deadly force there was not justified tune them out. This also causes the argument to become about race which is good for creating lots of hatred but not good at coming up with a reasonable use of force standard.

The right, on the other hand (pun intended), tries to make this issue about gun rights. Framing this as if their right to own a gun depended on this being a justifiable use of force. This too distracts from the real issue. Deciding that this case did not warrant deadly force does not (and should not) impact the meaning of the second amendment nor the philosophical debate on people’s right to own weapons (for self defense or otherwise).

The 911 operator tells Horn:

Ain’t no property worth shooting someone over.

I’m not sure I agree with that statement, but it does put into perspective that pretty much no property is worth as much as a life. Property can be replaced or duplicated, a life cannot be. That said, if someone breaks into my house, I would want my neighbors to stop them. If they shoot their knee caps out or just shoot them because they aren’t a good shot, I would not want the low life who breaks into my living space to get away with it.  Would I want them dead? No. I would want the Justice system to punish them with the laws on the books. However, if the choice is between them getting away or them getting shot (assuming we know they are burglars who were in my house), I would want them shot to prevent their escape.

I guess, my view on this would be different if I was a burglar. All kidding aside though, it’s not like we can claim that the burglar was doing nothing wrong. Also, it’s very likely that this is not their first such crime and that they should have known the risks of breaking into someones house. By breaking in, they assumed the risk of being shot dead.

As for Joe Horn. I really am torn if he was guilty of some sort of form of homicide or was just being a good neighbor. Was this justifiable homicide, defence of neighbor’s property or murder? I’m not sure.

Finally, the fact that the two alleged burglars were in the US illegally should not enter into the conversation about the use force.