tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May) writes:
Agree, very foolish to ever plant boobytraps in one's own home.
The problem that I would have with boobytrapping my home is that there are numerous people (police, firepersons, maintainance workers, etc...) who might have a legitimate reason to try and gain entry. An automatic device cannot anticipate some complicated scenario which might play itself out while I was away, such as someone with a medical emergency trying to get to a phone, or public service personnel needing to gain entrance to fight a fire or to search for people to evacuate in case of a biological or chemical accident. The other reason I wouldn't do such a thing is that I do not own anything that I consider worth death or serious injury to another human being. I recognize that this is a personal view, and others opinions on the value of their possessions may differ from mine. Regarding the topic of children with guns, I recall a classmate of mine whose father gave him a loaded rifle to keep in his room for "protection" when he reached the advanced age of 12. That very night, he got scared when he thought he heard an intruder sneaking up the stairs, and emptied the gun into his dog. He really loved the dog, and the whole experience was very traumatizing for him. Statistically, guns in the home are far more likely to be used to shoot someone in a domestic dispute, or to be taken away by a criminal and used against the homeowner, than they are to be used to defend the homeowner against injury. I can see very little purpose for guns in densely populated urban settings, where people tend to be paranoid, and stray bullets can hit almost anyone. -- Mike Duvos $ PGP 2.6 Public Key available $ mpd@netcom.com $ via Finger. $