By Dan Zimmerman via TTAG
This is the kind of happy holiday season story that warms the cockles of your heart and renews your faith in humanity…not to mention the Second Amendment. Bruce McLaughlin, Jr. released himself on his own recognizance from a Pickens, South Carolina jail yesterday. He and another inmate beat up two guards, stole their keys and made their escape.
You’ll be shocked to learn that McLaughlin had been a frequent guest of the local graybar hotel.
McLaughlin had been in and out of the Pickens County jail about a dozen times on charges ranging from drug possession to assaulting a police officer to shoplifting. He was currently awaiting trial on first-degree burglary and grand larceny charges, according to sheriff’s office records.
While the other inmate was re-captured in short order, McLaughlin came upon a local home and kicked in the back door. What he apparently didn’t count on, however, while he was standing there in his orange jumpsuit, was what was on the other side of the door.
The woman was home alone and had gone through training to get a concealed weapons permit, Clark said.
Bruce McLaughlin Jr., 30, died from a gunshot to the head, Pickens County Coroner Kandy Kelley said.
The local police were impressed with the un-named homeowner’s prowess in protecting herself with a firearm.
“This was a big guy. If she hadn’t had a weapon there’s no telling what would have happened,” (Pickens County Sheriff Rick) Clark said. “I gave her a big hug. I told her how proud I was of her.” …
“This is the shining example” of why owning and knowing how to use a gun is important, the sheriff said.
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. As in almost every bad situation, the un-named homeowner in this case was her own first responder. No one knows what could have and likely would have happened before police could have arrived, even assuming she had the chance to dial 911.
And yet there are still many dedicated hoplophobes who look at even clear-cut personal defense situations like this one and lament the fact that citizens have the right to keep and bear arms.
Maybe you saw our post yesterday about three women who were accosted by a thug on their way to church. The NRA noted the same story and…
#ArmedCitizen: A #Detroit mother and daughter were leaving for church when a man grabbed one of them and forced his way into their home. The mom retrieved her gun and successfully defended herself and daughter against the violent man. https://t.co/Jk3ZNcRXis
— NRA (@NRA) December 4, 2018
The fact is, despite all of Sonia Prince’s hand-wringing and pearl-clutching, the situation in Detroit went very much right. Maybe she carries a frying pan or fire extinguisher in her purse, but most people don’t.
The good news is that one of those Detroit women was armed and successfully defended herself and the two women who were with her from a criminal. Just as the woman in South Carolina did. Just as Americans do more than 1.1 million times a year, usually without ever having to pull a trigger.
This is why we own and carry firearms. And always will.