"Get My Shotgun !!!"

I had a dear friend, named Vern, who recently passed away from cancer.  He was from Yugoslavia and legally immigrated to the US when he was a young man.  Before he died he told me a great story that I will never forget.

One warm summer night, he and his wife were asleep in bed.  Their bedroom was located above their garage on the front of the house.  Two large sliding glass doors opened up to a small balcony just above the entrance to the garage.  Since the night was warm, they had left the sliding doors open to let in the cool air.

In the early morning, Vern was awakened by the sound of the screen door sliding open.  Quietly he opened his eyes to see a man on the balcony preparing to enter his bedroom through the sliding glass door. As the intruder silently parted the curtains to enter the room, Vern yelled at the top of his lungs,

"GET MY SHOTGUN!!!"

The intruder's response was immediate!  He turned around and dashed across the balcony to the railing.  Climbing up on the top of the railing, he jumped about 15 feet to the concrete driveway below, destroying both of his ankles.  The police followed the trail of blood from the compound fractures to some nearby bushes where they arrested the intruder, who was in severe pain and grateful to receive medical care.

Now the interesting part of the story is that Vern did not even own a shotgun.  If he had, I doubt it would have made any difference.  Why did the intruder risk his life by jumping from a second story balcony if he never saw Vern's gun? What frightened him so much that he would crush both his ankles? The answer is simple!

The intruder was simply frightened by the possibility that Vern DID own a gun and that he was prepared to use it to protect his family and his possessions. He was frightened by the possibility that if he entered that room, he would face the destructive force of both barrels of a 12 gage shotgun. It was Vern's legal right to own a gun and the possibility that he had exercised that right that frightened the intruder away.

Would things have been different if the intruder knew that Vern did not own a gun?  Would the outcome have been different if the intruder had known that the US Government had made it illegal for Vern to buy a gun or to buy ammunition?  I think you will agree with me that things would have been very different for Vern and his sweet wife had the intruder known that his life was not in danger as he crept silently into their bedroom.

We must maintain our right to bear arms and to own guns and ammunition, IF FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN TO INSTILL THE FEAR OF DEATH IN THE HEART OF EVERY WOULD BE CRIMINAL WHO EVEN CONSIDERS COMMITTING A CRIME AGAINST THEIR NEIGHBORS.