# Positive Gun News of the Day **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 22, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490 "2015-10-22T22:57:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Razncain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@Razncain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razncain)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/21 "2015-10-23T15:31:58Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Is that what you’d tell that vigilante? A vigilante that did act by taking the law in his own hands, but also followed the law. Don’t think he broke any, did he? ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/22 "2015-10-23T15:37:29Z")
> [@Esox\_Lucius](#): > > Regardless of what it means to anyone, there was no disaster; _ergo_, there was no disaster relief; _ergo_, he wasn’t a disaster relief worker, so why did you refer to him as one? I assume you didn’t see him as a selfish mercenary. Did you read the article? > [@](#): > > Fletcher is a co-owner if a company that upgrades and repairs cell towers and he is sometimes \*\*hired to do disaster relief \*\*work for AT&T through a local company in North Carolina. > > The only other time he was in New Jersey was to do similar work after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, he said. > > Fletcher said he is not given much time to get to a location and has to pack up and leave rapidly. In late June he received a call to go to New Jersey, following thunderstorms that caused outages. [From another article:](http://concealednation.org/2015/07/honest-mistake-nc-tower-climber-arrested-in-nj-for-possessing-firearm-this-man-needs-a-pardon-and-our-help/) > [@](#): > > When Brian Fletcher mobilized his men to head up to New Jersey, he did what any law abiding gun owner in North Carolina would do when heading into unknown territory – bring his legally obtained pistol. **The mission? Disaster relief for Trenton,** New Jersey. According to Fletcher, him and his entire team had less than an hour to get their equipment together and proceed north. And in almost all the states in the Southeast, he would have been perfectly fine bringing his firearm with him. [From another article:](http://bearingarms.com/man-rushed-help-new-jersey-disaster-relief-now-faces-absurd-gun-charge/) > [@](#): > > On the night of June 28, Brian was waiting in a parking lot with his men and trucks to await further word on the next tower. A New Jersey police officer pulled up behind his truck and inquired as to what he was doing. According to Fletcher, they discussed the **disaster relief work** and so forth. It was then Fletcher handed over his ID and did what any law abiding citizen of North Carolina would do (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.12A.) – inform the officer that he had a firearm in his vehicle. First off, I didn’t refer to him as a “disaster relief worker”. I said he was doing disaster relief work. Not sure why I thought he was doing disaster relief work. Oh that’s right, because he was. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/23 "2015-10-23T16:34:55Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > [Robbery Attempt At Light Rail Station Backfires When Would-Be Victim Gets The Gun](http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/09/03/robbery-attempt-at-light-rail-station-backfires-when-would-be-victim-gets-the-gun/) > Robbery suspect shot with his own gun - that he wasn’t legally able to possess. Sounds like this is a bit of Negative Gun News. Because, you know, it doesn’t seem like the fact that he wasn’t legally able to possess a gun was much of an impediment to his becoming a Bad Guy With A Gun. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/24 "2015-10-23T17:43:34Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Whether we have the death penalty for those crimes or not doesn’t matter. It matters to my assessment of what news I consider to be positive. People being killed is not something that I consider to be positive, even if they are committing crimes. I see these situations as tragedies all the way around – I don’t celebrate the fact that that the crime ended in the death of the perpetrator. I should add that this assessment has nothing to do with the fact that a gun is involved. I wouldn’t consider it positive news if someone killed a burglar with a knife, or a knitting needle, or by pushing him down the stairs. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2015, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/25 "2015-10-23T23:51:51Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Did you read the article? > [From another article:](http://concealednation.org/2015/07/honest-mistake-nc-tower-climber-arrested-in-nj-for-possessing-firearm-this-man-needs-a-pardon-and-our-help/) > > [From another article:](http://bearingarms.com/man-rushed-help-new-jersey-disaster-relief-now-faces-absurd-gun-charge/) > > First off, I didn’t refer to him as a “disaster relief worker”. I said he was doing disaster relief work. Not sure why I thought he was doing disaster relief work. Oh that’s right, because he was. No matter how many people call a dog’s tail a leg, it still isn’t a leg. There was no disaster, period. Show us the devastation and human suffering that all the media slept through. The only reason to call him a disaster relief worker–pardon me, that he was doing disaster relief work;)–is to create more sympathy for him than he deserves. Did _you_ read the article? It says, as you yourself quoted, “he is sometimes hired to do disaster relief”, not that he was in this case, because he wasn’t. I guess you just forgot to highlight “sometimes”. Your other two links are to the same slanted story. One site just copied the other verbatim but you quoted different parts so it looks like two separate stories. Any other cheap stunts you want to perform for us? What I really fail to see is how a guy who gets into trouble by not bothering to learn the law is a good gun story.😕 Even more to the point, as it’s already been pointed out by a few other posters, how is killing people, for whatever reason, good? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2015, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/26 "2015-10-23T23:59:11Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Yes - he tweeted a picture with a gun and something about Nigga a few days prior to the robbery attempt I didn’t see that, but you know that he was black, right? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/27 "2015-10-24T01:04:54Z")
> [@](#): > > The only other time he was in New Jersey was to do similar work after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, he said. I wonder if he broke the law that time too. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/28 "2015-10-24T01:32:17Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Kind of offensive to list the deaths of people as “good news” even if the dead were pricks. I thought gun people were all about, “gosh, I sure hope I never have to use my weapon.” > > How would we feel about a Positive Abortion Stories thread. > [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > From my perspective, the only positive news in this entire thread is **Gatopescado’s**. When I saw the thread title, I was trying to think what I would consider positive gun news, and came up with target shooting and successful legal hunting of non-endangered animals. > > People dying prematurely and violently, even if they were in the process of committing a crime, is not positive, it’s a tragedy. We do not have the death penalty for burglary, and I don’t even think it’s appropriate for armed robbery. People who might have had a chance at being a positive influence in the world are dead. Their families are mourning them. There’s nothing positive about that. This line of thinking baffles me. I feel exactly the opposite. The tragedy isn’t in the violent death that was the deserved conclusion of their miserable scumbag existence while in the act of committing or attempting to commit a violent crime against innocent people, it’s the process that led them to that way of thinking and acting. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/29 "2015-10-24T05:20:43Z")
> [@Esox\_Lucius](#): > > What I really fail to see is how a guy who gets into trouble by not bothering to learn the law is a good gun story.😕 Even more to the point, as it’s already been pointed out by a few other posters, how is killing people, for whatever reason, good? The good part of the story is not that the person violated the asinine laws of NJ, but that he received a pardon. Your second question was answered in post #12. * * * One other semi-related note I forgot to mention, or maybe I remembered but thought it was too old. Another pardon in NJ, [Shaneen Allen](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/07/22/shaneen-allen-race-and-gun-control/). > [@](#): > > Shaneen Allen, 27, was pulled over in Atlantic County, N.J. The officer who pulled her over says she made an unsafe lane change. During the stop, Allen informed the officer that she was a resident of Pennsylvania and had a conceal carry permit in her home state. She also had a handgun in her car. Had she been in Pennsylvania, having the gun in the car would have been perfectly legal. But Allen was pulled over in New Jersey, home to some of the strictest gun control laws in the United States. > > Allen is a black single mother. She has two kids. She has no prior criminal record. Before her arrest, she worked as a phlebobotomist. After she was robbed two times in the span of about a year, she purchased the gun to protect herself and her family. There is zero evidence that Allen intended to use the gun for any other purpose. Yet Allen was arrested. She spent 40 days in jail before she was released on bail. She’s now facing a felony charge that, if convicted, would bring a three-year mandatory minimum prison term. [Allen was also pardoned earlier this year.](http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/04/gov_christie_grants_pardon_to_pistol-packing_pa_mo.html) And that’s positive news. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/30 "2015-10-24T14:28:07Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > The good part of the story is not that the person violated the asinine laws of NJ, but that he received a pardon. Your second question was answered in post #12. > > * * * > > One other semi-related note I forgot to mention, or maybe I remembered but thought it was too old. Another pardon in NJ, [Shaneen Allen](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/07/22/shaneen-allen-race-and-gun-control/). > > [Allen was also pardoned earlier this year.](http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/04/gov_christie_grants_pardon_to_pistol-packing_pa_mo.html) And that’s positive news. So the positive news is that many gun owners are ignorant of the laws about carrying guns and sometimes their ignorance is at least allowed for? Or are you secretly campaigning for much better required training before people are permitted to carry guns in any state. If so I applaud you. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/31 "2015-10-24T15:40:11Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > This line of thinking baffles me. I feel exactly the opposite. The tragedy isn’t in the violent death that was the deserved conclusion of their miserable scumbag existence while in the act of committing or attempting to commit a violent crime against innocent people, it’s the process that led them to that way of thinking and acting. I would agree that the process that led to an individual becoming a criminal is tragic. But I strongly disagree that violent death is a deserved conclusion. This is what I meant when I said that we don’t have the death penalty for burglary (here in California, the death penalty is only for murder or treason). And I can’t possibly say that someone had a miserable scumbag existence because of one criminal act. I guess dehumanizing people as scumbags makes it easier to justify killing them, but to me the violent death of a human being is still tragic. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/32 "2015-10-24T16:41:00Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > But I strongly disagree that violent death is a deserved conclusion. This is what I meant when I said that we don’t have the death penalty for burglary (here in California, the death penalty is only for murder or treason). And I can’t possibly say that someone had a miserable scumbag existence because of one criminal act. I guess dehumanizing people as scumbags makes it easier to justify killing them, but to me the violent death of a human being is still tragic. Even in CA, the law recognizes a person’s ability to defend themselves or others with force including deadly force if necessary. So while we don’t have the death penalty for burglary, it is a recognized possibility that the law sanctions when it involves a person defending themselves or others. In other news - [SANTA ANA HOMEOWNER WITH MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING FENDS OFF INTRUDERS](http://abc7.com/news/oc-homeowner-with-martial-arts-training-fends-off-intruders/970335/) > [@](#): > > Dumaual said two burglars came into his bedroom through an open sliding door, pointed a gun at his head and demanded money. > > “Fifty-fifty, it was a struggle. I didn’t know whether I was going to die,” Dumaual said. > > Wanting to protect his sister and his 14-year-old nephew in the house, Dumaual took action. > > “I saw the gunman turn his head, I attacked. I went for the gun. I have training in Krav Maga, so it didn’t scare me at all,” Dumaual said. > > Dumaual pushed the gunman against a window, shattered the glass, and then took the fight outside. > > After fending off both men, he took the gun. One suspect ran, but the one who lost the gun wanted to keep fighting. > > “He never fired a shot on me, but I took that gun and he was going for that gun again, so I had to defend myself,” Dumaual said. > > He shot the suspect in the leg, when the man tried to run. Dumaual pushed him into the pool and told him to stay put. When the suspect jumped out of the pool, Dumaual shot him again. > > “He wanted to run,” Dumaual said. He said the suspect kept saying, “I’m sorry,” and tried to flee. > > “No, you’re staying right here buddy. So I tried to subdue him even more,” he said. And to head off the questions about what is the positive news here, the known gang member with a long criminal record was able to get a gun! The positive news is that the homeowner was able to defend himself, and turn the tables on the people attacking him. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/33 "2015-10-24T16:48:56Z")
Note that the trained martial artist used the gun once he had possession of it. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/34 "2015-10-24T19:19:24Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > The good part of the story is not that the person violated the asinine laws of NJ, but that he received a pardon. Your second question was answered in post #12. Like I said before, the police reaction was excessively harsh, and I assume that’s why Christie pardoned them, not because the law is asinine. It’s there for a reason that you’re not acknowledging. Who knows how many New Jersey deaths have been prevented because of the law? If New Mexico had a similar law, maybe the four-year-old girl killed in the road rage shooting would still be alive. Now, what about the fair-and-balanced:rolleyes: [ConcealedNation.com](http://ConcealedNation.com) article describing Brian Fletcher as doing disaster relief work? Do you still think he was? ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/35 "2015-10-24T19:35:48Z")
> [@Esox\_Lucius](#): > > Now, what about the fair-and-balanced:rolleyes: [ConcealedNation.com](http://ConcealedNation.com) article describing Brian Fletcher as doing disaster relief work? Do you still think he was? You’ve offered nothing that is persuasive to change the position I stated in post #22. I actually don’t care since it’s a hijack, but NJ was clearly facing severe storm damage at that time and both the [Office of Emergency Management and FEMA were involved with the State Police.](http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/06/christie_power_being_restored_to_south_jersey_no_d.html) You could make a claim that t[he storm response wasn’t as swift](http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2015/06/gloucester_county_officials_disappointed_with_chri.html) if an actual state of emergency was declared, but I think that’s besides the point. Fletcher was asked to go to NJ as part of his job, he was arrested on non violent gun related charges that would not be a crime in his home state, and he was pardoned. Those are the salient facts of this story. Not quite sure why you’re interested in the other minutiae - don’t mistake this for thinking I want to know because I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/36 "2015-10-24T22:17:54Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > …that would not be a crime in his home state… Why does that matter? He wasn’t in his home state. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/37 "2015-10-24T22:37:43Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > You’ve offered nothing that is persuasive to change the position I stated in post #22. I actually don’t care since it’s a hijack, but NJ was clearly facing severe storm damage at that time and both the [Office of Emergency Management and FEMA were involved with the State Police.](http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/06/christie_power_being_restored_to_south_jersey_no_d.html) You could make a claim that t[he storm response wasn’t as swift](http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2015/06/gloucester_county_officials_disappointed_with_chri.html) if an actual state of emergency was declared, but I think that’s besides the point. Fletcher was asked to go to NJ as part of his job, he was arrested on non violent gun related charges that would not be a crime in his home state, and he was pardoned. Those are the salient facts of this story. Not quite sure why you’re interested in the other minutiae - don’t mistake this for thinking I want to know because I don’t. He is interested because the gun owner is always wrong, no matter what. ALWAYS. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/38 "2015-10-24T22:49:09Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > From my perspective, the only positive news in this entire thread is **Gatopescado’s**. I’d say it’s positive news that neither the homeowners being intruded upon nor the employees of the restaurant were shot or killed by the bad guys. > [@Spoiler Virgin](#): > > But I strongly disagree that violent death is a deserved conclusion. This is what I meant when I said that we don’t have the death penalty for burglary (here in California, the death penalty is only for murder or treason). There is absolutely no way to know what’s going to happen once someone has broken into your home or pulled a gun in a robbery. This is why shooting robbers and intruders is justified. Too many times the victims in such circumstances are murdered to eliminate witnesses, and/or to prevent the victims from calling the police in order to assure maximum time to get away. It isn’t that the robbers “deserve” being killed even though they haven’t killed anybody (yet), it’s that by their actions they’ve placed innocent people in jeopardy of their lives. In other words, self-preservation (for themselves or to protect employees and patrons in the case of workplace shootings) is the reason for their being killed, not because the particular crimes they committed or are trying to commit warrant it on their own. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/39 "2015-10-24T22:58:59Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > People dying prematurely and violently, even if they were in the process of committing a crime, is not positive, it’s a tragedy. Agreed it’s tragic but it is certainly a better outcome than the alternative where the perpetrator is successful and/or harms innocent people. Wouldn’t you agree? ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490/40 "2015-10-25T05:33:55Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > It matters to my assessment of what news I consider to be positive. People being killed is not something that I consider to be positive, even if they are committing crimes. I see these situations as tragedies all the way around – I don’t celebrate the fact that that the crime ended in the death of the perpetrator. > > I should add that this assessment has nothing to do with the fact that a gun is involved. I wouldn’t consider it positive news if someone killed a burglar with a knife, or a knitting needle, or by pushing him down the stairs. You must be really bummed out by the tens of thousands of people who die every single year in car accidents. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/positive-gun-news-of-the-day/735490.md?page=3)