Why do gun owners say that they would shoot burglars? Do they value their property more than a human's life?




This question was posted in Quora and is the same style question that makes the rounds about once a month. Someone, sometimes outside the United States, lays down the philosophical gauntlet  of the burglars life versus  property.   The thinking goes along something like this:  A burglar is breaking into your house ( and the question clearly indicates you are home at the time ) to steal your stuff for whatever need or addiction they have and you the homeowner in an attempt to stop the stealing, shoot them and thus taking their life. The further thinking is, if you had just let them take the stuff and leave or just give them a warning to scare them off you wouldn't have chosen toT shoot them. At the moment of stealing your stuff, they weren't attacking you...just your laptop ( or whatever) and that doesn't rise to the level of ending their life. 

This line of thinking fails in two directions.
1.  When the bad guy enters your home you don't know what his intentions are.  Despite what naive people think, the bad guy TELLING you anything is to be disregarded.  Don't trust what the bad guy tells you such as..." I only want your money" or " I won't hurt you if you co-operate". 
Many rapist and killers lull their victims into a false sense of letting their guards down with this line of persuasion. 

2. That you, the homeowner, should not stand your ground and allow yourself to be the victim. The thinking goes..Even though you have the right to do so, it is more noble and honorable to allow yourself to be a victim then to fight back.  You don't know know the why's or reasons  of the person being in your home and it is more noble to accept their struggles as more important than your own. 

Some of the Quora responders say it very well:

The mental gymnastics to phrase these biased questions is amazing. You hop several steps down the chain of events, and then question the victim’s motives.

  1. No, nothing in my home is worth dying for, so don’t come in thinking you can take the things I’ve worked so hard for.
  2. My home is the one place on earth that I should feel safe and secure. If you are not invited in by me or my family, then you are unwelcome. If you enter by force, then you will be met with force.
  3. Home invasion is a very personal and traumatic crime. I’d liken it to rape. Something you think is yours and inviolable is violated. Busting in to a home that contains people is going to create a situation where the likelihood of conflict goes up exponentially.

Given all of that, the home invader made the decisions that lead to the outcome, not the victim. Their intentions and state of mind are unknown. I do not plan to stand idly by and wait for them to harm someone I love.


and

This question shows us how short sighted the person posing it is. How does the homeowner know the criminal just wants his stuff? Not to kill his entire family? The idea that it is immoral to defend yourself is insanity. The true question is: why does the criminal believe it’s his right to enter my home, take my stuff and put our lives at risk? Ultimately is what they are there to do worth their life? How twisted are we as a society that we defend those who ruin lives while demonizing those who defend themselves?


and 


You’ve put the gun owner on the wrong side of the equation. The gun owners aren’t risking anyone’s life for property, nor are they making the valuation on the life of another. It was obviously the burglar who made the calculation to value their own lives at less than the gun owner’s property. Sometimes you have to accept people for what they think they’re worth.

On the other side, this is a snapshot of a Reddit poll.  Notice that almost 1000 respondents flat out said " NO"

https://www.reddit.com/r/polls/comments/vpfsml/is_it_moral_to_kill_a_burglar/


"unless they put me or someone elses life in danger, i will never kill someone"
"There's arguments to be made about it being their choice and all that but none of those arguments have enough legitimacy in my mind to justify killing someone over some possessions, that's insane and shows a complete disregard for human life."

And finally, from https://ndcatholic.org/yourresources/editorials/column0319/
"Because the use of deadly force is justified only when it is intended and necessary for the protection of human life, it follows that deadly force can never be used in defense of property. The principle always recognized in Western Law and morality has been that only moderate force — and even then, only the amount necessary — is justified to protect property."

In conclusion, opinions are varied but the vast majority of people feel and think that if someone is breaking into your house, you are morally justified in defending yourself. 
It's not about the property or the items - it's about the potential threat and the idea that you don't have to be a victim.  





 Quora Question:

https://americasgunclub.quora.com/Why-do-gun-owners-say-that-they-would-shoot-burglars-Do-they-value-their-property-more-than-a-humans-life



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