When you don’t need a gun (update)

This article appeared in this morning’s Post and Courier. Apparently South Carolina is one of the best states to live in if you plan on taking care of your own law enforcement problems; state law allows a home owner to protect not only his life but his property, and not just in her home but in her car, business, a campground, etc. Law enforcement and prosecutors have apparently interpreted the law quite liberally, too, including declining to prosecute a man who fatally shot a would-be thief in the back as he ran away after failing to steal a bicycle. One problem some have identified with this state of affairs is that private citizens have greater leeway in using guns than even law enforcement officers, who are allowed to use deadly force only when it is reasonable to suspect that a person’s life is in imminent danger – not to protect property. Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon told the reporter that this discrepancy makes sense because law enforcement officers are trained to make these distinctions whereas private citizens are not. Fair enough – and I’m all for giving someone the benefit of the doubt when it appears he reasonably believed himself or his family to be in danger. But when a gun owner admits to using his or her gun for the express purpose of preventing damage or loss to property, I think it’s time to rein in the posse and give citizens an incentive to let the police do their jobs.

- KPE

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