Neighbor in Danger

[Wherryj]

Dude needs a sharper shovel. That or tell the wife to kill the snake next time, she seems to run the place.

I don't think that the issue is the sharpness of the tool. The snake was most likely uncooperative in it's demise.

The issue at hand is using the right tool for the job. I wonder which is more likely: 1. The shotgun is used improperly and someone is hurt. 2. SOMETIME during a 90 minute duel with a rattlesnake someone is bitten.

[drutledge79]

'A' should get a shotgun and tell the wife to STFU. A home invasion isn't a very likely prospect but neither is a fire -- one should be prepared for both. And take her to a range and show her guns are not mystical devices of the devil. They are both powerful and also completely stupid chunks of metal that cannot do harm unless you do something stupid.

[lugar]

Have C call D. So E can call F. Then G can come to B's defense, who can then render aid to A.

Or tell A to grow a pair and take his family's safety seriously. Kitty whipping wife or not.

I always find it comical when someone post things such as. "Person A's wife will not let him keep a firearm at home".

What is she going to do if he buys a firearm as well as a lock box to keep it in? Really, Is she going to file for divorce?

Since when do men allow their wives to treat them like small boys? Little Johnnie (A) has been bad so no desert and TV for you tonight ????

Mean while "the wife" does as she pleases because she has her husband right where she wants him...under her thumb.

Honestly tell her you are buying a firearm for the family's safety. Like it or not.

She will only stay mad for a few days.

You are right on. "A" should man up. He has a duty to protect his home no matter what Mrs. A says.

[amd64]

Person A should run away and let his wife handle the situation, since she won't allow a gun in the A house.

Person B should do nothing, since the A people have it all figured out that they don't need a gun in the house.

[shy 7th]

...Then she went on to tell me that last week her husband had killed a rattler with a spade. Took him an hour and a half!

I wonder if this is just her (and the husband's) misunderstanding of the biology of snakes (and other reptiles). Now, I'm no expert, but I have seen many times where dead reptiles keep moving because of their nerves or whatever.

In fact, just the other day I was watching "Man, Woman, Wild" on Dicovery Channel. It's one of those wilderness survival shows. Anyways, the guy had decapitated, skinned and gutted a snake and the body was still writhing. All it was was bones and muscle and it was still going.

My guess is that the snake in this quote was dead after the first or second blow, but took an hour and a half for the nerves to slow down and "die."

Anyways, back on topic, that LA times article is quite disheartening. Granted, the article doesn't say the age or physical condition of the landlord. He might be 85 and missing and arm and a leg for all we know. It is still sad to read that he didn't do anything other than go inside and call the police.

What is even more disheartening is that this thread even exists, that this state makes us question the legality of standing up for someone else.

[Glock22Fan]

Actually I have also killed a rattler with a spade. It was sound asleep inside my garage (in fact, I wondered if it was dead). Because U.S. spades seem to have blades that are rounded from side to side, you actually have to place the spade precisely to get a through cut. It takes quite a few blows (on concrete at least) to sever the head. Wouldn't want to try this with an awake snake.

As said above, even a snake with a severed head will writhe about for an hour or more.

English spades are straight from side to side. Probably would work better for this.

[Subotai]

<<<When committed in the lawful defense of such person, or of a
wife or husband, parent, child, master, mistress, or servant of such
person>>>

Make sure it's not one of those "role play" or bdsm games you're seeing!

[oldsmoboat]

My neighbors dog barks too much. I'd just roll over and go back to sleep.

[CnCFunFactory]

Hypothetical:

Person A tells Person B he feels threatened because of a gang that frequents where he works. Person A's wife will not let him keep a firearm at home.

Person A and Person B live next door to one another. One night/day, Person B hears Person A scream for help and goes to Person A's apartment with a loaded firearm and sees that someone has broken in and is threatening Person A.

Can Person B enter Person A's home to defend him, if by staying in his own home he would have never come to harm?

Person B needs to turn up his surround sound a bit louder to avoid hearing person A altogether. Furthermore person A needs to grow a pair and tell his wife "whats up", better to have a wife with hurt feelings than be dead.

[resident-shooter]

wow, this thread has turned into who should be what. If a woman hates guns, she might just need to be educated and taken to the range so she can learn from experience. If she is stubborn and close-minded, then leave her alone and move on. This tactic has not failed me

[rideanddive]

Person a should....

Person a should sack up, tell his wife he's buying a gun, and then do it.

[inbox485]

Trying to pin down when it is appropriate to defend a 3rd party is like defining obscene. You'll know it when you see it. I've put my neck on the line for a couple strangers before and I don't regret it. Person A should grow a pair and tell his wife he won't deny himself the right and duty to protection. Person B would be just short of sub human if there is an obvious necessity for defense where they could reasonably make a difference but they do nothing. Not something I could live with.

[inbox485]

Person B should call the police to help person A. Person B could get killed trying to help Person A.

...unless Person B is a badass

So could the police or any other person with the cajones to stand up to scum. Not suggesting going on a suicide run, but accepting a reasonable risk to life and limb when you have a reasonable opportunity to save a life is the right thing to do.