Do Americans Have the Right to Self-Defense or to Defend Their Family?

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the right to defend ourselves and our family. When acting in self-defense or the defense of family or property, Americans are free to use whatever is handy – teeth, feet, knife, gun, or slingshot.

Paul Sacca at The Blaze reported that a fourteen-year-old young man in Michigan allegedly used his slingshot on Wednesday to save his little sister from abduction from their backyard. The eight-year-old sister had been hunting for mushrooms last Wednesday in her family’s backyard in Alpena, Michigan. A seventeen-year-old man came out of the woods, covered the girl’s mouth, grabbed her around the waist, and tried to drag her into the woods. 

The older brother witnessed what was happening outside and grabbed his slingshot before running out of the house. He used his slingshot to sling something that hit the suspect in the head. The grasp of the suspect on the younger sister was loosened, and the girl struggled until she got away from him. The older brother shot again and hit the suspect in the chest.

The suspect fled the scene. Michigan State Police released the suspect’s description, and he was quickly located. He was hiding at a nearby gas station. He had injuries on his head and chest, injuries that were used to identify him as the alleged kidnapper.

The seventeen-year-old male from Alpena confessed to detectives that he “planned on severely beating the victim.” He was arraigned in the 88^th District Court on Thursday and charged as an adult with several counts: “one count of attempted kidnapping/child enticement, one count of attempted assault to do great bodily harm less than murder, and one count of assault and battery.”

“The suspect was taken to the juvenile section of the Alpena County Jail and was being held on $150,000 cash bond” with a court date scheduled for May 17.  The older brother who saved his younger sister is being credited as being a hero for saving her life, according to Alpena Post Commander Lt. John Grimshaw. He continued:

“He really is the one, that I believe, saved his sister’s life or from having something seriously bad happening to her,” he stated. “For a 14-year-old to see that and to pop into action that quickly is extraordinary.”

“It just goes to show that there’s evil out there, and it can find anybody, anywhere,” said Grimshaw.

Grimshaw gave advice to anyone in an abduction situation:

Fight, fight, do everything you can. Bite the hand that’s being held over your mouth,” he advised. “Stomp on their feet, kick them in the shin, do whatever you can to fight. And then if your mouth is free, scream as loud as you possibly can.”

Americans have the right to use any type of weapon to defend themselves and their families. They can use whatever is available to them.

What Does the Future Hold for Kyle Rittenhouse?

            Families, communities, and nations are stronger when parents are active counselors in the lives of their children and teenagers. We will never know how many lives can be influenced for good by parents who are active in teaching, counseling, and protecting their children.

            Americans have watched for three weeks the trial of a teenager – Kyle Rittenhouse. Someone should have been counseling the seventeen-year-old young man to stay home on that fateful night. From all accounts, he could be described as a good and compassionate teenager who went about helping other people. In fact, he got in trouble because he wanted to help people on that fateful night in August 2020 when he made the decision to get involved in protecting his community from rioters. If he could go back and make the decision again, he could decide that bad would override any good that he could accomplish.

            Rittenhouse was acquitted on all five charges and was declared not guilty. This is the verdict that should have come because he was defending himself – a constitutional right. This decision does not make the determination that his actions were good. It only states that he acted in self-defense when other people were trying to kill him. He will live the rest of his life and all eternity with the knowledge that he killed two men. The jury was right to acquit him. They kept him out of prison, but they cannot give him a normal life. His life will never be the same as it was before that fateful night. Even though acquitted, he will pay a terrible price for his actions.

            For one thing, Rittenhouse will have difficulty being accepted into any university or getting a job. Whether we like it or not, he will be judged differently by universities and employers. He and his family might move to a different area because their lives will not be safe in their hometown. With a name like Rittenhouse, they will have difficulty disguising themselves. Therefore, gossip and trouble will follow them forever. I wish them luck and peace.

 

Could You Shoot An Intruder?

                    If someone forced themselves into your home, could you shoot them?  A recent news article by Rene Lynch in the Los Angeles Times and the story in it presented great evidence of why being an armed citizen is necessary.  Sarah McKinley, an 18-year-old widow and mother of a 3-month-old baby, used a shotgun to defend herself and her son against two men who broke into her home on New Year's Eve.  She will not face charges in connection with the shooting because she acted in self-defense. 

                    McKinley's husband died on Christmas Day of lung cancer.  Less than a week later, Justin Shane Martin (24) and Dustin Louis Stewart (29), reportedly high on prescription drugs, forced themselves into her home looking for more drugs.  One of them knew that someone in that home had recently died of cancer and suspected that narcotics might still be in the residence.  When the men began pounding on the door of her mobile home, McKinley wedged a sofa up against the front door to stop the intruders.  She moved her infant into the bedroom and called 9-1-1 to ask permission to shoot if necessary.

                    Twenty-one minutes later she was still on the line with the dispatcher when Martin broke through the door and past the couch.  McKinley was standing in the door of her bedroom with her shotgun.  No law enforcement officers were in sight.  Martin died with a knife in his gloved hand, and Stewart later turned himself in to the police and confessed.  He is facing first-degree murder charges.

                    There appears to be little confusion about what happened in the home because much of the ordeal was captured on the 9-1-1 recording.  McKinley told the dispatcher that there was a guy at her door and that she was alone with her infant.  She asked permission to shoot if the guy came through the door.  The dispatcher, Diane Graham, told her that she couldn't give her permission to shoot but told her to "do what you have to do to protect your baby."

                    McKinley held off as long as she could in an attempt to wait for police to arrive.  It was only when Martin came through the door that she blasted him.  She "feels bad" that she shot him, but she has "no regrets" about defending herself and her son.

 

                    I thought a lot about McKinley's experience and wondered if I could do the same thing.  A mother's love for her child is very strong, and yet life itself is very dear.  I wondered if I really could pull the trigger and kill another human being or would I be too concerned about legal and eternal consequences.  I am in no way judging McKinley and what she did because I understand that she was in a position where she had to defend herself or possibly suffer horrible results.  We will never know what would have happened to McKinley and her son, Justin, if she had not shot the intruder, but we do know that the men were on drugs and had at least one knife when they broke into her home.

                    I also thought, she is only 18 years old and look at the hard life she faces.  She is a widow with an infant son to rear and now has to have this shooting on her conscience.  I thought of myself, my daughters, and other young women at age eighteen and realize that we were all very naïve and sheltered.  This poor woman!

                    Then I thought of the 21 minutes of terror, 21 minutes waiting for police to arrive.  What if it was only five or ten minutes?  The terror would have been just as great and the result would have been the same.  How long would it be before police could arrive at my home?

                    Maybe McKinley could have prevented the forced entry if she had shouted "I have a shotgun, and I will shoot you if you come through my door!"  Maybe she did warn them.  Maybe she didn't.  It is a horrible dilemma for anyone to face! 

The fact remains that McKinley was prepared to defend herself and she lived through the ordeal.  She is not the only American prepared for defense.  Every month when my Freedom Magazine arrives from the National Rifle Association (NRA) I read true stories of other armed citizens who used their Right to Keep and Bear Arms to protect themselves and their families.  Not all of them have to kill the attackers or intruders, but the fact that they had guns loaded and available protected them and their property.

I understand that gun and ammunition sales increased greatly upon the election of Barack Obama.  I also understand that there was another increase in sales in recent months when Americans saw mobs in Europe attacking and robbing unarmed people who could not defend themselves and recognized that the same thing could happen here.  More and more Americans are arming themselves and preparing to protect themselves, their families, and their property.  How about you?  Could you shoot an intruder?