60-Year-Old Woman Shoots and Kills Intruder… Guess Where It Happened?

If you had to pick a state that represents independence better than any other state, which one would it be?

Delaware? It was the first state to join the United States of America in 1787, and its motto is “Liberty and independence.” So it might get a couple of votes.

Idaho? It’s known for the self-reliance of its citizens like many other northwestern states. It may be among the contenders.

And Missouri – the “Show Me State” – doesn’t take anybody’s word for anything. Not to mention the fact that it has a prominent city named “Independence.”

But at the end of the day, I think you’d have to go with Texas as the most independent-minded state in the country. After all, its nickname is “The Lone Star State.”

And Texas was once its own Republic. To top it off, Texans make occasional threats to secede from the Union. This state does things its own way, regardless of what others say or think.

Tables Turned on Would-Be Robbers

Why do I bring this up? Last week a 60-year-old woman living in Harris County, Texas heard intruders entering her house shortly before noon. They came through an open garage door because, well, the neighborhood is considered safe. Or at least it was.

She immediately assumed her life might be in danger. She also knew the basic concept that you don’t enter somebody else’s home without permission. So, the woman ran and grabbed her pistol.

She shot one of the two armed intruders, while the other ran out of the house, jumped a fence and escaped. As of this writing, he is still at large.

The man she shot also made it out of her house. But then he collapsed and died on her front lawn. Police found a gun near his body.

The woman was not injured during the incident, and she told police she did not know either of the intruders.

Now, Texas is not the only state where this type of situation happens. It could occur anywhere. But it’s more likely to happen in a state where people aren’t afraid to defend themselves.

But what struck me most about this story was the reaction from the woman’s neighbor, Cathy Hanks. She said she was not surprised that her neighbor took matters into her own hands.

“That’s Just Texas”

“That’s really how we are,” Hanks said. “It’s the state of Texas. If you’re going to go into someone’s home, you’re going to get shot. That’s just Texas.”

Now, I’m not sure that the loss of a human life is ever a cause for celebration. It’s unfortunate that the intruder chose this path in life and now will never get a chance to reform himself.

But it’s not like these two guys were in their early teens, pulling a foolish prank. The one who escaped looked to be in his 20s. By that age, someone ought to be intelligent enough to realize the implications of entering someone else’s home to steal or worse. When you make that choice, you’re risking going to jail, serious injury, or even getting killed.

And the words of the woman’s neighbor keep coming back to me. “That’s just Texas.”

If people all over the country had the attitude they have in Texas, there might be a lot fewer home invasions. Families everywhere would be ready to defend themselves with whatever force was necessary.

The Left’s Topsy-Turvy World

Of course, the bleeding hearts on the Left will look at this in another way. They’re very good at turning criminals into victims and victims into criminals.

Maybe they think the woman should have tried to talk the intruders out of their plans to rob her or worse. Perhaps they believe she should have offered to serve tea and bake a pie. That way the intruders could load up her belongings and figure out the best way to make sure she could never identify them.

For some reason, gun control supporters are under a misguided notion. They think that making guns illegal or difficult to get will cut down on crime.

They don’t seem to grasp that criminals will always find a way to get illegal guns. And law-abiding citizens will then be helpless to defend themselves against those criminals. It seems pretty basic to me, but not to them.

They don’t want 60-year-old women shooting home invaders. They want them to stand by helplessly and hope for the best.

Sorry. Not in Texas. That’s just really not how they are.