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Previous Essays:
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Links I Like
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.
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![[NRA Logo]](../../images/armcitzn.jpg) From:
The American Rifleman
June, 1998
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 Jason Goforth, 22, opened his door after hearing a woman's voice in the early
morning hours of December 22, he didn't expect to have a man shove a rifle in his face.
Then "[another] subject with a gun in his hand tried to kick the door in and push his
way in," said La Vergne, Tennessee, police Capt. Robert Wolf. A brief struggle
ensued, and, according to police, Goforth pulled out his gun and shot the home invader
three times. That was apparently enough to discourage two other intruders who had
accompanied the first pair. The three who remained were arrested and charged with
aggravated burglary and attempted aggravated burglary. "Most of the facts on their
face appear that [Goforth] was acting in self-defense, " said Wolf. (The
Tennessean, Nashville, TN, 12/23/97)
Gene Case was preparing to do landscaping work outside an apartment complex when he
noticed a crazed man who had been in a dispute with residents. Fearing a dire situation,
Case retrieved a gun from a locked console in his truck before the man yanked a medical
monitor away from an 80-year-old woman nearby and, according to witnesses, grabbed a
2-year-old girl from her mother's arms. Case yelled at the man throughout the ordeal,
warning him to stop. Finally, fearing for the girl's life, Case told the would-be
kidnapper that if he didn't release the child he would be killed. The man complied and
Case then held him at bay until police arrived. The man was arrested for robbery by force
or fear, kidnapping, indecent exposure and assault on a police officer. Case said he had
applied for a right-to-carry permit soon after the Oklahoma Self Defense Act became law on
Jan. 1, 1996. (Tulsa World, Tulsa, OK, 1/31/98)
An ordinary withdrawal for bank customer Bobby Holland turned into a fight for his life
when two men attempted to rob him at gunpoint. As Holland, 25, who was armed, entered the
Union Planters ATM station one Friday evening, two men followed, pointing a gun at him and
threatening to kill him, according to police spokesman Lt. Richard True. Holland shot one
attacker in the stomach and thigh, which sent the man to a hospital in critical condition.
The other man was arrested at a hospital where he underwent treatment for a bullet wound
to the thigh. Police said Holland has a state handgun permit to carry a firearm and that
he would not be charged in the incident. (The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN, 10/21/97)
Video store owner David Ragan had to react quickly one Friday afternoon when a 6-foot,
2-inch, razor-wielding "customer" appeared at his counter. After the man grabbed
him, Ragan dropped to his knees, sliding out of his loose-fitting shirt. He used his left
hand to hit the panic button and with his right hand grabbed his gun, which he is licensed
to carry. A customer walking in the store minutes later found the 5-foot, 9-inch Ragan
naked from the waist up and staring down at the man who was now spread-eagled on the
floor. Ragan, who has a history of positive community activism, was quoted assaying,
"I don't want to be killed but I'm not going to take it. It's going to take more of
us fighting back to send a message to these criminals that you can't get away with
this." The suspect was arrested six minutes after the incident by police and was
charged with first-degree robbery, possession of a deadly weapon during a felony and
carrying a concealed deadly weapon, according to state police spokesman Cpl. Preston
Lewis. (Sunday News Journal, Wilmington, DE, 1/25/98)
After two drivers pulled their vehicles into a store parking lot following a traffic
altercation, a more personal, and potentially violent, confrontation occurred. The first
driver, a 36-year-old man, came at the second driver with the knife blade of a pocket
multi-tool. The second driver, who was licensed to carry a gun, countered the threat by
drawing a 9mm handgun. The would-be victim held the attacker until police arrived.
Witnesses corroborated the victim's story, prompting police to charge the attacker with
aggravated assault. (Paradise Valley Independent, Phoenix, AZ, 1/14/98)
Shortly before 2 a.m., a Bothell, Washington, homeowner was awakened by the noise of an
intruder entering his bedroom through an unlocked sliding door. A brief confrontation
ensued, during which the victim sustained injuries and the intruder threatened to kill the
man and his wife. At some point during the struggle, the homeowner removed a handgun from
a drawer and shot his tormentor, fatally wounding him. The couple was questioned at police
headquarters afterward and released, with police calling the shooting an act of
self-defense. It turns out that the intruder's rap sheet was extensive and included thefts
and assaults in three counties. Said one woman of the neighbor hood, where many leave
their doors unlocked, "I suppose you always have that false sense of security." (The
Seattle Times, Seattle, WA, 12/22/97)
A 56-year-old employee of the Illinois attorney general's office turned the tables
somewhat on an intruder to the office's parking garage. The victim let the man into the
garage after having been convinced that he was there to dispose of the garbage. Once
inside, the intruder indicated he had a gun and intended to rob the victim. What the man
didn't know was that the victim, already suspicious, had retrieved a .22 handgun
from his vehicle. When the impostor garbage collector attempted to "pick up"
cash from the victim rather than trash from the garage, the employee pulled his pistol and
ordered the would-be robber to the ground. The employee held the man until the arrival of
police, who discovered that the holdup man possessed only a crack pipe. The employee's gun
had been unloaded and in a case, a legal way to transport it, police said. (The State
Journal Register, Springfield, IL, 1/16/98)
If you have had a firsthand “Armed Citizen” experience,
call NRA-ILA Grassroots at (800) 392-8683.
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