For police, the goal is vigilance, not vigilantes

  • Thread starter Thread starter Robert_Sock
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The keyword in neighborhood watch is “watch.” It is not safe to attempt a more active role. Besides the obvious physical risk, one really needs a good understanding of the legal boundries involved in apprehending an alleged criminal for an alleged crime. The argument over response time is somewhat true, but it is not as much as portrayed here. The best defensive weapon is distance. Distance equals time, sometimes a lot of time if one is in a car or close to a locked door.
 
SamH said:
As you define a vigilante? Yes.

I fail to see the issue with armed citizens that protect themselves from criminals.
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The topic of the news article is vigilantism, and not merely owning a gun to protect oneself in one’s own home.
 
Robert_Sock said:
Because allowing people to have a concealed weapon outside of one’s home leads to vigilantism.
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Source for this claim? I’m sure you have a stidy or two that will back the claim that issuing a CCW permit to a person leads to them turning into criminals.
 
Robert_Sock said:
You should not be allowed to carry a concealed weapon outside your house, as is the state law here in CA.
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But that isn’t the state law here.

So, I applied for and received a permit. 👍

But that still doesn’t answer my question.
So I should be fair game when I am not inside my home?
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I understand the need and support the right to carry a concealed firearm. However, I think when one goes arms to seek out criminals, it becomes more questionable. When one seeks out and pursues criminals, then it is even more questionable, again, from a legal point of view. If one is going to leave the house to “patrol” the neighborhood, then the obligation to flee if one is armed becomes more imperative. Confrontation at that point crosses the line into vigilantism.
 
maryjk said:
But that isn’t the state law here.

So, I applied for and received a permit. 👍

But that still doesn’t answer my question.
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If by ‘fair game’ you mean being allowed to carry a concealed weapon outside your house, then my answer is, yes.
 
Robert_Sock said:
Aren’t we all fair game then, even those who have a permit?
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No, actually we aren’t.

wsbtv.com/news/news/local/police-waffle-house-customer-shot-would-be-robber/nY6pJ/
A robbery suspect is being treated for a gunshot wound after a Waffle House patron opened fire.
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Union City police say they were called to the Waffle House on Jonesboro Road just before 2 a.m. Monday.
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Officers said a man went into the restaurant waving a pistol and demanding money. Someone inside the restaurant shot the man, police said.
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The man was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment, but no one else was injured.
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Robert_Sock said:
Do you believe we need vigilantes, like George Zimmerman, to do the work of specially trained police?
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How is it just to call him such a thing? He did not take the law into his own hands. He protected himself from being beaten to death.
 
pnewton said:
I understand the need and support the right to carry a concealed firearm. However, I think when one goes arms to seek out criminals, it becomes more questionable. When one seeks out and pursues criminals, then it is even more questionable, again, from a legal point of view. If one is going to leave the house to “patrol” the neighborhood, then the obligation to flee if one is armed becomes more imperative. Confrontation at that point crosses the line into vigilantism.
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I disagree with the notion that walking or driving around your own neighborhood, presumably on public ground or ground you’re otherwise allowed to be on, constitutes “seek[ing] out criminals.” It’s your neighborhood, not theirs! You certainly don’t give up your right to protect yourself just because of some ne’er do wells invading your home or your neighborhood.
 
fix said:
How is it just to call him such a thing? He did not take the law into his own hands. He protected himself from being beaten to death.
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If GZ was not a vigilante, he would never have profiles and followed TM in the first place.
 
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