Guns, Self-Defense, and Yosemite Sam

I have a friend who worked as a consultant for the oil industry for awhile in Texas. When I asked him what Texas was like, he told me that it was the easiest place in the world to fit in . . . if you ever wonder what you should do, just ask yourself, "What would Yosemite Sam do?" His guiding principle.

In light of that, I noticed this story lately about a shoot-out between two neighbors down near Greenwood.

Now, I am not a big gun rights guy, nor am I a big gun control guy. You could say I own a "handgun," but since the day my grandfather picked it up off a dead German soldier in Europe sometime in the 1940s, I don't think it has been fired. Perhaps its more of a "decoration" than a "firearm," but nonetheless.

It occurred to me that gun-rights advocates are absolutely correct - guns don't kill people. Along the same lines, gasoline doesn't burn anything. They both, however, tend to accelerate already dangerous situations.

Here is the gist of the Greenwood story:

Security video released earlier this month shows the violent clash between Weigle and neighbor Dean Keller, 49.

Weigle can be heard insulting Keller and his wife, then is seen driving a riding mower off screen. Weigle backed up the mower and returned to the camera’s view, when he raises a handgun toward the sky.

Keller pulled a handgun and fired. Four shots struck Weigle in the chest. Weigle fell from the mower and fired shots back toward the Kellers.

This can only be described as tragic. What should have been a neighborly disagreement turned into a life threatening situation. Both parties will forever be affected by this one moment of lost tempers.

I heard a story shortly after moving in about how two of my (former) neighbors had a fistfight in the middle of the cul-de-sac. While a fistfight is assuredly not a preferred outcome, it is infinitely preferable to a shootout. If two people decide they want to fight, at least there aren't any stray bullets whizzing through my daughter's bedroom.

A thought.