An unscientific poll conducted on various Northwest gun forums in the wake of last month’s fatal shooting of a Spokane car theft suspect may shed some perspective on Friday morning’s incident in Maple Valley.
A man was killed and a woman seriously wounded when they were shot by a property owner in a confrontation after the armed citizen called the King County Sheriff’s Department reporting a crime in progress. Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Sgt. Cindy West said the shooting is still under investigation.
The Seattle Times and KOMO stories got plenty of reaction from website readers.
The Friday shooting occurred coincidentally with the last full day of polling about the Spokane shooting, which concluded Saturday and revealed that about 62.7 percent of the respondents answered “yes” to the single question: “Should shooting auto thieves be considered justified?” This column conducted the poll at WaGuns, Northwest Firearms, Shooters Northwest, Seattle Guns, Defensive Carry and Gun Rights Media.
The Spokane incident also ignited a lively discussion on the Open Carry Washington forum, though the poll was not conducted there.
The question was specific. Nobody was asked whether they believed it currently is justified, but only whether they believe shooting auto thieves should be considered justified. Considering what allegedly occurred in Maple Valley, that might be broadened now to whether shooting any kind of theft or burglary suspect should be considered justified. The discussions on all of these forums demonstrate that gun owners are not just a bunch of single-minded vigilantes, but that they understand rights, responsibilities and response levels, and can debate things from differing perspectives.
Washington statute on the use of deadly force is pretty clear. Homicide by private citizens is justifiable when committed either:
(1) In the lawful defense of the slayer, or his or her husband, wife, parent, child, brother, or sister, or of any other person in his presence or company, when there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design on the part of the person slain to commit a felony or to do some great personal injury to the slayer or to any such person, and there is imminent danger of such design being accomplished; or
(2) In the actual resistance of an attempt to commit a felony upon the slayer, in his presence, or upon or in a dwelling, or other place of abode, in which he is.—RCW 9A.16.050
On all of the forums, there were remarks both pro and con regarding the use of lethal force against people who steal. Gun owners understand the law as it exists, and they also have opinions on how theft suspects should fare if caught in the act.
However, not all the reactions on every forum were the same. At WaGuns, the vote was 55 percent yes, 29 percent no and 16 percent undecided, while Shooters Northwest members voted 88.24 percent in favor, and just under six percent each against and undecided.
At the Northwest Firearms forum, the vote was 53.1 percent “yes,” 28.83 percent “no” and 18.02 percent undecided, while at the Seattle Guns forum, it was 84.88 percent in favor, 13.95 percent against and 1.16 percent undecided.
At Gun Rights Media, which had the smallest poll participation, 80 percent supported the notion, 13.33 percent opposed and 6.67 percent were undecided. The Defensive Carry forum showed 50.56 percent support, 23.6 percent opposed and 25.84 percent undecided.
Almost invariably on all the forums and in the conversations on the news websites, the discussion turned to whether property is worth someone’s life, be it a car or whatever might be in a storage container on property in Maple Valley.
People are fed up with property crimes and the inability of the justice system to significantly discourage people from committing such crimes. It does not appear that the criminal element is getting the message that it is not right to steal, but in the wake of the Spokane and Maple Valley incidents, they may understand it can be pretty dangerous in a state with a high rate of gun ownership and more than 400,000 active concealed pistol licenses.
Bellevue’s Second Amendment Foundation has for many years sold a window decal warning would-be burglars and thieves that, “The owner of this property is armed. There is nothing inside worth risking your life for.”
One wonders, however, whether it would make a difference even if there were such decals in the windows of every home, apartment and car in the state. Would-be thieves might think it’s worth the risk of jail if they are caught in the act, but with two recent high-profile incidents on both sides of the state, perhaps it is time to ask whether it is worth the risk of catching a bullet.
Suggested reading:
Washington State Gun Rights and Responsibilities
=======================================
Comments