It Should’ve Been A Defensive Gun Use: Luck Runs Out Edition

This is a tough one to write. Not because of the events, or the people involved; tragedies like this are tough for anyone to stomach. No, this is my first “Should’ve Been A DGU” post, a subject of internal debate for me. There’s a lot of wiggle room, conjecture and supposition in situations like this when we wonder what coulda, woulda, shoulda been. That said . . .

Barbara Preidt is dead. She was shot by a masked assailant after winning a few bucks at the penny slots in a casino on North Carolina’s Cherokee Indian reservation. She didn’t have to die. The thug got what he wanted — her purse — but that wasn’t enough. But he wanted her life, too, and he took it with a single round to Mrs. Preidt’s chest at close range. Her husband, lying on the ground near her, could do nothing to stop the horror. And that pisses me off.

I’m not mad at Mr. Preidt for not carrying. God no. Nor am I angry at Harrah’s Casino, or the Cherokee Indian police. What gets my goat is the attitude expressed daily by the anti-gun crowd, which spills into the mainstream, that burglars and purse-snatchers won’t hurt you as long as you comply with their demands. It’s an archaic argument to hang your hat on.