"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
Sounds like another overreaction caused by someone who loves his guns more than actual human beings.
Maybe. That depends on what really happened, though. I'll be waiting to see how this story develops.
-- Edited by hiccups at 10:07, 2008-02-28
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"The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine." --Elaine S. Dalton
Yeah, I need more information. If that motorcyclist really intended harm to the girls, more power to this Dad. It's also possible that he had a monumental error in judgment. But the story is sparse on details.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
I'm sorry but you don't shoot motorists, even if they menace you with a motorcycle.
--Ray
Are motorists now a protected class? What if he was waving a gun, a knife, or other weapon? What if he was yelling at the top of his lungs that he was going to kill those girls? What if he was a former boyfriend of one of the girls with a history of violence? The problem is we just don't know. There weren't enough details in the article. There are situations where it would have been appropriate to shoot, and others where it would not have been. That's why I'm witholding judgement. There is one worrisome detail in the article; the motorcyclist rear ended the car the girls were driving. He must have been really pissed, really insane, convinced of his invincibility, or all of the above. Any normal person realizes that if the car had started reciprocating in the bumper car game, the motorcycle would have lost.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
Organist, that's a lot of judgment given the lack of facts in the case. You pose a lot of "what if" scenarios, all of which could be the case. Or it could be the case that the motorcyclist was an active threat. We don't know. We weren't there to witness it. And the facts aren't given in the case. Besides, remember the whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing? If a jury convicts him then I'll agree with you that he's a cold blooded murderer. But there are so many possibilities that it's impossible for us to say with the available evidence. One thing that speaks against the motorcyclist, in my opinion, is that he turned around and drove by the house again after seeing the dad standing there with his gun. If his intentions were innocent, wouldn't he have skipped driving past the house again to get away from the crazy with a a gun? Of course, again, we don't have the facts of the case. Maybe it was a cul-de-sac and the only way out was past the house again. I just think that people are being awfully judgmental in a case where we have almost none of the facts.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
(In my former post I had listed many possible reasons that the motorcyclist had followed them home that did not justify murder, but deleted them for brevity.)
I know, it is very uncharacteristic of me to make such a quick judgement. But, this was Fox news, and they would have emphasized any mention of legitamite self-defense in their article, like the motorcyclist brandishing a weapon or trying to run him down. Even the so called bump while driving, (which sounds more like the girls bumped him than he bumped them because of their obscene gestures) doesn't justify shooting someone at a much later point in time.
There was no immediate threat to the man or his family.
The shooter was angry at the motorcyclist. Premeditation was shown because he was waiting outside his house with the gun. He had time to think about this, it was no act of passion or blind rage. It was cold blooded murder.
I just cannot think of a scenario that justifies this murder.
I'm inferring nothing from the lack of mitigating factors in the story, because it appears that Fox simply copied the information that was in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. In fact, the AJC seems to have a tad more detail.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
I can see where you're coming from, Ray. We're all children of our Heavenly Father, and we all have worth. But there are several examples in our scripture of righteous killing. For instance, when Nephi killed Laban, or when Captain Moroni led his army in the killing of the Lamanites in order to defend their way of life. Of course, it's never something that should be lightly done. But your post seemed to me to be a non-sequitur. It doesn't matter whether he was a motorist or not. That should have no bearing on the rightness or wrongness of this person's actions. The only thing that should matter is whether he was endangering this man or his daughters.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
If it went down as described and he did follow them and even struck their vehicle, I would not charge the guy. I will withhold my judgement until all the facts are out though. But if someone did that to my teen girls and followed them home, you had better bet I'd be outside with the 12 gage and a look on my face that said you had better get the hell out of here. I would have also called the cops. If a guy is willing to follow someone home like that, he would have no problem going into your home and assaulting someone.
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Jason (Formerly salesortonscom)
As I walk through this earth, nothing can stop, the Duke of Mirth!
I'm finding it hard to believe that a motorcycle would deliberately ram a Yukon. That would be suicide.
Following someone is entirely different than entering the house to assualt them. One does not lead to the other. Premeditated killing them when you are in no immediate danger is murder. Thus far I can find neither legal or scriptural cause for this killing. I don't sympathize with those that shed innocent blood.
no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing... the truth of God will go forth till it has penetrated every website, sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done
All I know for sure is that we were not there so we have no idea what went on. Would a disturbed individual try and hit a car with a motorcycle. I have no doubts. Just look at what other disturbed individuals have done in the past.
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Jason (Formerly salesortonscom)
As I walk through this earth, nothing can stop, the Duke of Mirth!
