Actually, it appears only one of the punks actually vandalized the signs. From Smoking Gun:
Angered that two neighborhood teenagers knocked over a John McCain sign on his lawn, an Ohio man allegedly grabbed a rifle and fired three times at the duo as they sought to drive away from his Warren Township home. Kenneth Rowles, 50, was charged with felonious assault in connection with the Saturday afternoon incident, which resulted in one boy suffering a minor bullet wound. According to a Warren Township Police Department report, Patrick Wise, 16, yelled, "This is for Obama" as he knocked over the McCain sign. Wise's cousin, Kyree Flowers, 17, was waiting in the passenger seat of the SUV, which was struck by three bullets fired by Rowles. One bullet hit Flowers in the arm, while another shattered the passenger's and driver's side windows. Rowles, pictured in the above mug shot, claimed in a police interview that he "shot three times attempting to scare the subjects." Shortly after the October 25 confrontation, Rowles called police to complain about two instances in which his McCain signs had been vandalized, but never bothered to mention that he had, minutes earlier, fired at a vehicle carrying Wise and Flowers.
OK, we have a few issues here. First off, if a man cannot be secure in his property rights, or secure that at least he is able to secure his own property rights, we have no society as such anymore. Obviously, he overreacted. Nobody wants to see a couple young punks getting killed over some idiotic thing they did as teens.
That being said, I have not seen the kids charged. The kids were black, the man was white, and they were yelling, "this is for Obama." If we reverse the races and the candidate, I'm pretty sure they would currently be in the process of being booked on charges of a hate crime. Not that I agree with that. But instead, the kids get off free, one with a minor flesh wound, and are now big timers in their little world. They are also now seen as the victims, and will likely be able to file suit against the shooter. This is not good.
I kid you not, less than an hour ago, some punk ran onto the back porch of my condo and stole a cigar I had out there. My first inclination was to put another cigar out there and wait inside with my pistol for him to return. It took about 20 seconds before I cooled down, but my first thoughts were to protect my property with whatever means were necessary. And I am far from a violent person. So I understand the shooter's thinking. He, also, should not be overly punished for an act that was provoked by lawbreakers on his own property.
At least that's my opinion. What do you think?
Meanwhile, the link there has the police report, which is kind of interesting. It seems that the shooter called to report the vandalism, but never mentioned the subsequent shooting. He asked the officer about Ohio's law on defending property, to which the officer replied along the lines that it would be really stupid if someone got shot over a yard sign. The shooter agreed. Perhaps he was thinking that it was indeed stupid that a couple kids would risk getting shot over a yard sign. Perhaps he's a total nutcase. I have no idea.
Note: this was not a case of simple vandalism, of kids being kids. The shooter was on his front porch when the kid decided to trespass and destroy property. It wasn't some little joke, he did it in the presence of the eventual shooter while yelling at the eventual shooter. Who knows if the shooter had reason to fear for his safety? I certainly would not have felt comfort, or safe in my home under such circumstances.
This is where the libs come in and say it was just kids being kids, offering up excuses that perpetuate the problem. When we minimize crime like this to the extent we have, society will eventually dissolve. If a man is not comfortable in his home, we are screwed.
Could be some scary times a'comin' folks.
Be that as it may, the gunshots after the trespasser left are certainly overkill.
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