Where I live range discipline is key.
Our homes are built with plywood and vinyl siding etc.,
and in the summer it’s a crowded town (with a lot of kids.)
Firing a weapon here would be a lot like firing one in a trailer park.
Best to take a breath, and check downrange.
Sometimes “stuff” as you call it is not just “stuff”. It could be something given to you by a loved one that has been handed down thru the generations, etc. Not saying I would put a bullet in them, not saying I wouldn’t. All I am saying is sometimes “stuff” cannot be replaced.
A few years back my daughter and son in law came home to find a bullet hole through their sons bedroom wall and lodged in the opposite wall. The guy next door accidentally discharged his gun. The bullet when through his wall and theirs.
Where I live, in the summer there will be a family-sized group staying in every one of these places,. Like 4-6 people per door ,and there is block after block of them. (Density like a crowded city. construction like the suburbs.) People on their porch, people grilling in the yard, families coming back from the beach . . .
I have to wonder in a situation like that. What might the guy have taken? Did he get into the wifes jewelry box and get the family heirlooms that are both valuable and sentimental? Did he get into the safe? Did the guy know or care whether I or a member of my family was home when he broke in? Is he armed? Would he have harmed my family if he was discovered in the act? Is he alone and the only one going out the window or is there someone else still in the house? Has the guy, or will the guy continue to break into homes if I let him get away?
Seems to me that the guy, by his actions clearly has demonstrated that he has absolutely no regard for my life or anybody else’s for that matter. And that’s the thing… there’s too many people in the world who will destroy your life in a second without a thought for your well being at all. That guy would take your life savings in an instant, possibility putting you and your family out in the street. Maybe his theft leaves you without money needed for critical medicines or Dr. visits that keep you or a family member alive.
Such extremes may be unlikely, given the scenario I put in the OP, but what makes him different than Bernie Madoff, or this newest piece of garbage SBF, who actually did destroy people without a thought? The mentality is the same. This country is filled with people who believe they can just take whatever they want and to hell with anyone who objects.
I’m not suggesting taking a life should be an easy thing to do. I don’t believe there’s many people out there like Dirty Harry, who can shoot bad guys by the dozen and not lose a second of sleep. Nor do I believe people should be out like Paul Kersey, actively going out and looking for criminals to shoot. Those are movies ( and darn good ones), but why should we not have the right to shoot the intruder?
True. Depending on your domicile it’s good to know verbatim your “Castle Doctrine”. Florida, Texas and not sure about Louisiana, thieves that break into a home of an armed homeowner are likely to be en route to judgement day.