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Book Review:
“The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor — The Life and Times of Tony Mazzocchi” This is a fascinating book about a labor leader who has had tremendous influence on our lives, but whose name is not even known by millions of Americans. Please read my review.

From:
The American Rifleman
November, 1995

Studies indicate that firearms are used over two million times a year for personal protection, and that the presence of a firearm, without a shot being fired, prevents crime in many instances. Shooting usually can be justified only where crime constitutes an immediate imminent threat to life limb or in some cases property. Anyone is free to quote or reproduce these accounts. Send clippings to: "The Armed Citizen," 11250 Waples Mill Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030

When a trio of young bandits strode directly into a Tujunga, California, jewelry store drawing weapons, the store owner responded with the same directness, opening fire on the three. One of the thieves was wounded and the other two ran from the store without getting their hands on a single valuable. (The Daily News, San Fernando Valley, CA, 8/18/95)

"God, his eyes, he looked like the devil, I felt my life was absolutely, positively in danger," said Ron Oatman of Thousand Oaks, California, describing the black-bearded, bare-chested man armed with a 4-foot bamboo pole who broke into his home claiming to be the Pied Piper. Confronted by an armed Oatman and houseguest Steven Schmidt, the increasingly agitated intruder refused to leave until a gunshot to his thigh sent him dashing from the home. Following a brief skirmish with Schmidt in the street with sticks, the "Pied Piper" smashed through a neighbor's front window. Oatman pursued and held the man at bay for police. (The Times, Los Angeles, CA, 8/2/95)

Despite being wanted by police for two separate violent episodes at his mother-in-law's house in the previous week, and a restraining order barring him from the home, the unemployed ex-convict decided to pay a third visit to confront his estranged wife. Cutting the phone line and kicking in the front door of the Little Rock, Arkansas, home, the ex-con got more than he bargained for. Inside the house, he found his estranged wife armed with a 9 mm and standing next to her mother, who was armed with a shotgun. Frightened for their safety, both women fired, killing the man, who was struck twice by the shotgun. (The Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, AR, 7/25/95)

A victim of burglary four times in the past eight months, Wayne Jacobs of Phoenix, Arizona, was alerted to the sound of two men prying open his back door. He yelled at the housebreakers to leave and when at failed to deter them, he grabbed his gun, shut himself in a back bedroom, and continued yelling warnings that he was armed and calling police. The criminals ignored his warnings and entered the home, making their way to Jacobs' room where the homeowner shot and killed one of them. The other fled the house. In a second incident that same evening, Raymond Sheedy, also of Phoenix, armed himself and confronted a man burglarizing his shed. When the thief aggressively grabbed for Sheedy's gun, the homeowner was forced to shoot, killing the attacker. (The Republic, Phoenix, AZ, 7/19/95)

After a police dog failed to find a suspect hiding inside a burglarized Charlottesville, Virginia, auto parts store, owner Thomas Hathaway began cleaning the ransacked area. Walking into the storeroom, a startled Hathaway discovered the burglar still inside and pulled a gun on the intruder, ordering him to lie face down on the floor. Hathaway held him for police, who quickly returned to the scene. (The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, 5/21/95)

Upon encountering the intruder in his Hillsboro, Oregon, home, 61-year-old retiree Donald Scarratt ordered the criminal to drop his knife and lie down while he called police. At first the burglar complied. But as police approached the home, the crook--a convicted killer already wanted for violating parole--grew panicked and lunged at the homeowner. Two quick shots put the felon back on the floor where he remained until being taken away in an ambulance. (The Argus, Hillsboro, OR, 6/13/95)

Auburndale, Florida, homeowner Rodger Bilbrey cut a boyfriend/girlfriend burglary team's date short after the couple broke into Bilbrey's home unaware that the man was right next door in his nursery. Bilbrey, armed with a .357 Mag., confronted the two as they fled the house. When the male bandit spun around as if handling a weapon, Bilbrey fired once, striking the him in the thigh. The crooked couple briefly escaped in their early 1980s Chevy Nova, only to be arrested minutes later. It was the seventh time in 12 years Bilbrey had been victimized by burglars. (The Tribune, Tampa, FL, 7/25/95)

Searching for love or food, a black bear found neither after entering a Clarington, Ohio, home--not once, but twice. The first time the tagged bear entered Margaret Speece's house, she and a friend, Jerry Allen, were able to push the large bruin outside using an ottoman in her living room. When the beast later returned, aggressively tearing a screen from a kitchen window, Allen used a .45 auto to dispatch the animal. (The Intelligencer, Wheeling, WV, 6/13/95)

Doyle Hawk grabbed a gun and locked himself in a room where he hoped he would be safe after being awakened by the sound of three burglars bursting through the front door of his Huntsville, Alabama, apartment. When the crooks began banging on the door of the room where Hawks was hiding, the frightened man fired several shots through the door, injuring one. The three men were later arrested at a local hospital. (The Times, Huntsville, AL, 8/1/95)

A Parks, Pennsylvania, man, suspected of at least 43 break-ins at elderly residents' homes, was finally arrested after one of his intended victims, a 59-year-old woman who had chased the man from her home with a 20-ga. shotgun, picked him out of a police line-up. The woman had purchased her shotgun following a previous break-in last year. When this intruder came calling, she confronted the crook in her kitchen. The man ran from the woman's home when he saw her armed with the big-bore gun. The face-to-face confrontation offered her a clear view of the suspect. (The Valley News Dispatch, New Kensington, PA, 8/3/95)

The young thug became angry after discovering the wallet he had just stolen from a handicapped Bensalem, Pennsylvania, man was empty. Cursing his victim, the robber charged the crutches-bound man and grabbed him. The victim then drew a .25 and fired a shot that "whizzed through the attacker's buttocks." The suspect fled and was later arrested after seeking treatment at a hospital. (Courier Times, Bucks County, PA, 7/12/95)

If you have had a firsthand “Armed Citizen” experience,
call NRA-ILA Grassroots at (800) 392-8683.

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Last Updated — June 20, 2008