I woke up this
morning with something totally different on my heart to write about, but as I
perused through news headlines there were two articles that really struck me.
Sadly they both pertained to the unlawful use of weapons, not by criminals, but by everyday civilians who were actually licensed to carry the
instruments that will likely put them in jail or prison for a very long time.
Back in July, Raul Rodriguez, a retired firefighter from Texas was sentenced to life in
prison for unlawful use of a firearm. Apparently he was angry about the loud
noise coming from a neighbor’s party next door. Rodriguez decided to go confront
the neighbor at his home where the two along with two others got into an
argument. Ultimately, Rodriguez ended up fatally shooting the man and wounding two
of his friends.
On a recorded
video, Rodriguez was heard telling a police dispatcher “my life is in danger
now" and "these people are going to go try and kill me." He then
said, "I'm standing my ground here," and fatally shot Danaher and
wounded the other two men. Sadly for Rodriguez, neither his defense nor the
unfavorable testimonies from his coworkers helped his case. In the end the
judge ruled in favor of the prosecutor sending Rodriguez to prison for life and
making him eligible for parole after 20 years. So now due to one bad decision, we have two families that will be forced to live without their husbands and fathers forever.
Similarly, though very different situations, a Canadian man by the name of Christopher Whittle is facing criminal charges, including assault with a weapon and possession of a dangerous weapon, after using pepperspray on a fourteen year old girl who had been taunting his partner for weeks. According to Whittle, “This was happening every few days. She was coming and making comments about him being gay, and basically just taunting him for who he was, calling him a faggot, fruit whatever,” Whittle said although he owned the spray for self defense purposes, he sprayed her because after witnessing how this continued torment affected his partner, he was upset and reacted impulsively. He does admit however that he was regretful when he found out she was only 14 years old and that he could have handled it differently. It is likely that Whittle will also face jail time for this one bad decision.
Even though these are two considerably different
situations, one attribute is the exact same – one bad decision changed each of their
lives forever. I bet both men wish they would have thought a little harder
about handling these situations and been more responsible with their weapons. It’s so important that people understand
that just because one is carrying pepper spray or is licensed to carry a gun
does not mean that using it in all situations is warranted. It is each individual’s responsibility to
practice good judgment when carrying any kind of weapon that means 1. Avoiding
situations that may result in the use of a weapon 2. Being mature enough to
realize that walking away from a fight or argument is totally acceptable. Just
because it’s readily accessible does not mean use it. Understanding the
importance of avoiding situations and having the ability to de-escalate them is
the most important piece of knowledge any armed person can carry.
