Thanks to jean@riverview.net for scanning this in and sending it to me for placement on the cdn-firearms web site. ************************************************************ THE ARMED CITIZEN November 97 Glennpool, Oklahoma, pawnshop owner Phil Martin kept a gun behind the counter for protection. When an armed thug entered the shop and demanded cash, Martin readily complied as his two children were present. The robber complained that there was not enough money and, when the crook momentarily turned his gun away, Martin drew his own .38 cal. pistol from behind the counter and ordered him to drop the gun. The bandit made a move toward him and Martin shot him. "in the end, I thought he was going to shoot me, so I shothim before he could" Martin said. (The World, Tulsa, OK, 7/19/97) Jim Vaughn, of Jensen Beach, Florida, was sure someone had broken into his home while he was at work. Betting that the burglar would return, Vaughn left for work one morning and then returned to await the house-breaker in a back bedroom. He had only been home a short time when he heard a rustling sound at the pet door meant for his schnauzer. When the burglar peeked around the bedroom doorway he was staring into Vaughn's .357 Mag. The burglar was identified as Vaughn's next-door neighbor and arrested. Asked if he was worried about the bandit being released fromjail, Vaughn shook his head and replied, "We had a little prayer meeting. I made a believer out of him:' (The Post, Palm Beach, FL, 2/20/97) After having a black bear leave claw marks on his doors and walls and even enter his secluded Charlemont, Massachusetts, home, Edward Root kept his 16-ga. shotgun handyjust in case it returned. Root had spoken to the Massachusetts Environmental Police about the bear-which had been ransacking Root's home and yard for about three weeks--and the agency advised him to "protect himself." His concern was well founded as the bear returned and made for the house--and Roo' -- hewas standingathisfrontdoor. Root said, "He was not scared of me at all. He had absolutely no fear" The bear was approaching the front door when the homeowner shot twice, killing it. (The Recorder, Greenfield, MA, 6/30/97) While making dinner one evening, Robin DeLaurie, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, noticed an unfamiliar truck with two men in it driving up and down his street. Later, there was only one man in the truck and DeLaurie saw the second was leaving his neighbor's garage with a weed eater and a chain saw. DeLaurie, a concealed-carry permit holder, confronted the thief, who came at him with the chain saw. DeLaurie then drew his .357 Mag. and ordered the man to lie down. Police were called and the burglar was arrested. The man is thought to be responsible for a rash of burglaries in the neighborhood. (The Tribune, Port St. Lucie, FL, 6/24/97) Hendersonville, North Carolina, homeowner Bobby Eubanks and his wife were preparing to retire for the night when they heard glass breaking in another room of their home. Eubanks told his wife to call 911 and then grabbed his pistol and went towards the sound. He discovered an intruder and held him until police arrived. (The Times-News, Hendersonville, NC, 6/11/97) Jeffery Brobst, of Hilltown, Pennsylvania, knows the value of having a firearm for protection. When he awoke early one morning to hear someone in his home, he alerted his sister, had her call 911, got his .22 cal. rifle and went to the top of the stairway in their two-story home. There he saw an unknown intruder and said, "Don't come up the stairs." The knife-wielding invader ignored the warning and headed towards Brobst, who shot him in the upper chest. Brobst ordered him to put the knife down and then held the crook at bay until police arrived. (The Morning Call, Hilltown, PA, 6/29/97) A man awoke early one morning to hear his front porch window being opened. He went to investigate and saw an intruder coming through the window. The resident ran to the back of the home and retrieved his handgun. When he returned to the front, the housebreaker was in his living room. The resident ordered him to stop, but the culprit fled to a waiting car. (The Herald Times, Bloomington, IN, 6/16/97) Sherry Rives, of Bear Creek, North Carolina, emerged from her shower to see a knife-wielding man coming towards her. When he threatened to rape her, she ran into her bedroom and got her 9 mm pistol. The two wrestled for the pistol and Rives was wounded in the thigh. She then gained control of the pistol and shot her tormentor several times, forcing him to flee. She then locked herself in the bathroom and called police. When police arrived, they found the would-be rapist dead with four bullet wounds to the chest. The woman's father said she kept the pistol in the house for protection and she knew how to use it. (The Herald, Sanford, NC, 6/13/97) After seeing a distraught convenience store clerk through the window of the store, Terry Runions thought something was amiss. The North Little Rock, Arkansas, man grabbed his 9 mm Ruger pistol from his truck and waited as two armed men emerged from the store, followed by the clerk. Runions ordered the two to stop and get down on the ground. They complied and the clerk disarmed them. The two robbers, one on parole, the other a convicted felon, were held for police. One robber said, "We would have made it, if it [wasn't] for that big dude!" (The Democrat Gazette, Little Rock, AR, 6/10/97) Upon returning home from a shopping trip, a Calhoun County, Alabama, couple found two men in their home. The husband got his pistol from his truck and chased them out of the house into a wooded area behind the house. He caught them and held a gun on them until police arrived. The two men are suspects in other burglaries in the area and several stolen firearms and valuables were recovered after the suspects scattered them while in flight. (The Daily Home, Pell City,AL,7/12/97) - _______________________________________________________ Freedom is often won with guns, then lost with ballots. Tyranny more often comes through the ballot box than by a marching army. We become slaves by our own choice...