One of the common assumptions that anti-2A zealots, whether in the media, politics, or your next door neighbor, make is thinking that guns are always used for violent purposes and that someone always gets hurt when one is pulled out. But is that really the case?
Now, logically, you already know that just drawing a gun doesn’t mean that you will be shooting it at anyone (or, as Joe Biden suggested, firing “two blasts” of a shotgun). In fact, we recently discussed how one of the most common defensive uses of a firearm is simply how it can often scare away an attacker without ever having to pull the trigger.
But what if you don’t have an actual firearm on your person, is there a way for you to make defensive use of a gun anyway?
As it turns out, yes, there is a type of defensive gun use that doesn’t use an actual firearm. City News Service gives us the details of a story from Los Angeles, California:
A man from the Tarzana neighborhood with an elaborate security camera system foiled an attempted burglary at a neighbor’s home overnight, scaring off the suspects with bright lights and a paintball gun, authorities said July 31.
The article continues:
Harper-Smith said he saw the suspects jump over a wall onto his neighbor’s property, and he flashed bright lights at them and fired at them with a paintball gun.
Surveillance footage from the scene shows the suspects running back to their car and driving away as Harper-Smith fired paintball rounds at the vehicle.
So, this guy was able to scare off the would-be thieves without killing or seriously injuring anyone. In this case, though, it was a non-lethal paintball used for the deterrent, and it worked.
Now, I’m not going to start suggesting that people only use paintball guns for self-defense. Unfortunately, there are times when only something that can seriously injure a person is enough to stop the attack.
I do think that it is a great thing that this man, in spite of California’s draconian gun laws, was able to find a way to deter criminals, and I applaud him for that.
Best info available is that the mere presence of a gun is frequently sufficient to cause would be criminals to have a change of heart and depart. Not always of course and many actual defensive shootings do not result in fatalities or even injuries to the perps (soiled diapers don’t count 😉
many, MANY times, every year, only producing a weapon (that EVIL brandishing) stops the commission of the crime over 2 million times every year. The FIBbers (incompetent) have the stats, but we all know they HATE facts and the constitution. Amerika is soon going to die. PREPARE
The paintball is actually brilliant!However if the bad guys were more aggressive and had real bullets it may have been ugly and the good guy may have lost.
As a person who has carried since the 70s I have seen this go both ways.it’s good that a paint ball gun was a deterrent. In the same instance it could have been a loss of life for that individual. The use of deadly force should never be taken lightly.
Let me site just one example in the late 1970 I worked at a liquor store where we cashed checks and where only a mile from an assembly plant for a major car manufacturer.on this occasion three men enter the store.because of the ck cashing we normally had a very large amount of money. We always had an off duty State police officer in the store as the night manager that night it was my job to secure the the register
The robbers entered the store and went to the beer case at the back of the store.at which time one pulled a gun and disarmed the officer. We followed all protocols , we gave them the cash that was left. Two exited the store.the third started to leave and didn’t he turn around and started to level the officers shotgun it us.needless to say he didn’t make it out of the store. Shame that a life was lost but at the same time there were four people who’s life where saved that night,mine was one of them!