chloyd

My wife recieved a phone call from a friend of ours in Arkansas yesterday. I wish I had a news clip to post of the story, but it has been too long. The friends cousin and her boyfriend were shot and killed by her ex-husband a couple days before Christmas. Apparently the couple had gone shopping with her infant son (ex-husband was father) and when they came back, he was waiting in the woods behind her house. As they got out of the car, they were ambushed. It just so happened that there was one other adult in the house at the time, and the ex-husband took the son inside to the other adult, and then went back out and shot himself. To me, one of the worst parts of the whole thing was that she already had a restraining order against him.

I think that everybody on this forum knows that those things are a joke, and don't really do anything to prevent crimes. Anybody who has brought one down on themselves has probably already committed at least one crime, and won't care about another...especially if they don't plan on living anyway.

I don't know all the details, and didn't want to pry given the circumstances, so I'm not sure whether he stayed in the woods and shot them with rifle, or if he crept up on them with a handgun. In a later discussion with my wife I was stating that as soon as she got the restraining order it would have been a good idea to have gotten a defensive pistol, some good training, and a carry permit. My wife's question was "would that have actually helped her?" All I could tell her was that it would have given her tools to protect herself, and she would have had at least somewhat of a better chance, particularly if he used a handgun. My heart and prayers go out to the family, especially her children. If anybody in my life ever finds themselves having to procure a restraining order, I am going to make extra effort to get them to take more measures of protection besides the order.

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"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. - Thomas Jefferson

retsupt99

The RO, PPO, whatever one calls it, it's the paper trail and an aid in a good self-defense issue. It does not replace the individual's need for self-defense with a weapon/plan.

Perhaps a rifle in the woods would be hard to defend against, but being very alert is a MUST...


Bad news for sure...

ret

__________________
"That I cannot do."

"Give this to, uh, Clemenza. I want reliable people, people who aren't going to be carried away. After all we're not murderers in spite of what this undertaker thinks."


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NRA Life Member

JimmyC4

That's a tragic story, for those who died as well as the poor child now without parents.

Again, it highlights the futility of paperwork, and reminds us that we must take responsibility for our own protection.

I'd be interested in reading the story if you could post a link.

EDITED TO ADD: If it happened in Haskell, Arkansas on December 21, here's a link to the story complete with video: http://www.fox16.com/mostpopular/sto...7-f02179f4d233

KenpoTex

As has been stated...they're nothing but a way to have a paper-trail to show that there was an ongoing problem (thereby aiding in your defense if you ever have to shoot the BG). They're not going to prevent a damn thing.

__________________
"There are no substitutes for violence of action and volume of fire..." ~Otto Skorzeny

If you carry in Condition 3, you have two empty chambers. One in the weapon...the other between your ears.

Matt K.

TN_Mike

Agreed Kenpo.....they have no power to stop anything. They are nothing more than a paper trail and a feel good item for the weak.

__________________
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. —Barry Goldwater 1968

Tennessee Firearms Association

chloyd

Found the news story. It was a handgun, and the victims never even made it out of their car.

http://www.bentoncourier.com/article...ws/31bnews.txt

__________________
"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. - Thomas Jefferson

Tom G

My sister went through this kind of crap.the police could do nothing. A restraining order is worth nothing in a case like this.I feel sorry for the kid.

NCHornet

Sometimes I wonder if getting a restraining order doesn't lead to these situations. I am not saying it isn't a good idea to get one, but clearly this guy had some mental issues going on for some time. He probably couldn't handle not being with the girl and his baby, when he got the RO, it may have been the last straw that sent him over the edge. Don't know but it is very sad. Having a CCW permit and being armed is not going to protect you in all circumstances. My prayers are with the family and that poor child who will never know his or her parents.

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Carry On!!
NCHornet

Betty

In my case, getting an Order of Protection finally got it through to an ex-boyfriend that what he was doing was serious and needed to stop. So he stopped. But I had a gun and eyes on the back of my head to reinforce that piece of paper.

I feel terribly sorry for that woman and her boyfriend. Some people are just nuts and no court order will stop them. Sometimes a gun won't even deter them because they're so nuts, especially if they're not afraid of dying in the end.

It's ludicrous my ex kept harrassing me and making threats when he knew I was armed!

An ambush is truly a scary thing. There's a chance of fighting back if you see it coming, but that chance gets diminished when someone stalks you and waits for when you're in a weak moment. If he was waiting in the woods with rifle and scope, we'd all be in deep trouble.

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"Americans have the will to resist because you have weapons. If you don't have a gun, freedom of speech has no power." - Yoshimi Ishikawa

Broodings, Blunders and Broadsides: The Betty Blog (Friends only - Email me through there to let me know who you are first!)

denverd0n

The answer is, maybe, maybe not, but it certainly wouldn't have hurt.