Two Down

Two ATFU agents were shot in a 4 a.m. raid in or around Atlanta, Ga. (h/t Of Arms & the Law) To paraphrase something attributed to Mark Twain & Clarence Darrow, I have never shot a person who makes a living ignoring his oath to uphold the constitution, but I've read many a news story with pleasure.

Both ATFU scumbags were released after short visits to the hospital. Unfortunately the suspected criminal's aim was off a bit.

& no - I'm not feeling any sorrier for the ATFU agents that were wounded than I would for any gang members that got hurt in a turf war. That's what this kind of thing reminds me of - two rival gangs squaring off against each other, only one of those gangs is more often than not us.

“I just don’t get it,' [Durden’s father] said. 'You come, kick in somebody’s door at 4 o’clock in the morning and what do you expect? This area has had a lot of burglaries and home invasions.”

Back in the very early 70's the ATFU raided a Kenyon Ballew's house (scroll down to Ballew v u.S.). Mr. Ballew was shot in the head by a cop who tagged along (the ATFU agents fired but kept missing). Mr. Ballew is still in a wheelchair last I heard. The agents then swore they announced themselves but Mr. Ballew claims he could not hear them, so when he grabbed a black powder pistol to repel the thugs who had kicked in his door he was shot for his trouble. That wasn't the first case of the cops screwing up a warrant nor was it the last.

The point is that anyone who breaks down your door for any reason should be shot. That's the whole point of doors - to let you know that someone wants to get shot badly enough to use it to make a whole lot of noise.

Add on to that just what those shot folks did for a living - they enforce gun laws that conflict with the constitution - & I do not feel one damn bit sorry for them being shot. I wouldn't feel sorry if they'd have been killed. I doubt any one of them would ever shed a tear for me if I were shot in the course of them serving a warrant so I can't say as their predicament causes any sympathy from me.

They're the enemy & they view us in the same way. To paraphrase one of their popular justifications - that's two more constitutionally illiterate scumbags off the streets (for a few days at least). Hopefully the man who shot the two ATFU agents will be cleared of any wrongdoing. It's not likely but it'd be nice.

& sure; they are human despite who they work for & what they do for a living. But would that cause you to shed tears for a serial rapist who got killed in the course of breaking into someone's house? That they were "just doing their jobs" doesn't make any difference to me. They were breaking into someone's house while armed. They obviously thought enforcing an unconstitutional gun law or two was more important than their victim's life just as a burglar thinks your VCR is more important than your life. So if either morally repugnant blight on our society gets hurt in the course of "doing their job" then that's a societal plus.

& again if we neglect what those vermin do for a living (i.e. put folks like you & me in jail despite being constitutionally prohibited form doing so) they were doing a no-knock at 4 a.m. I really wouldn't care if it was a bunch of agents from the Department of Agriculture - break down someone's door in the middle of the night (or anytime really) & you deserve to get shot.

I'd tell you that I hope if enough agents got shot during this type of thing that maybe they'd re-think the entire no-knock/forced entry practice. But they won't. & I have mentioned before that defending your home can be legally dangerous as well as risky to your health so I don't expect this to become a common occurence. But if I feel any sympathy at all for any of the parties involved its for the person trying to repel the boarders in the middle of the night. The legal hassle he is about to go through will deter many folks from emulating his example but at least in pockets there is a spirit of resistance left in America.

Posted by Publicola at December 16, 2006 04:02 PM | TrackBack