Irish gun owners can now shoot intruders

Thank God I live in Kansas USA where I store a handgun and two rifles in my home, which I can legally discharge upon any intruder foolish enough to attempt to burgle my property.

@cabbagehead: Nobody's talking about randomly harming tourists or salespeople. Nally was an old farmer living on his own in an isolated area, being terrorised, harassed and threatened on his own land and in his own home. And I'm glad that the closed-shop of the ICCL (no membership for the unwashed masses, unlike the ACLU) is once again behaving like an Onion parody, so that we can all sleep more soundly knowing that violent home-invaders will be protected too.

Make it a two shot deal, the second one in the middle of the forehead !!

This is good, garroting was getting so tedious.

Thank the Almighty that common sense has prevailed in Ireland as the right to self defense is a birthright as given to us by our Creator.

Now if the Lord Mayor of Chicago, Ritchy Daley, would only learn the leasson! The US Supreme Court overturned the city ordinance banning hand guns, so the City Council quickly imposed a seriies of onerous registration requirements with the sole intent to discourage lawabiding citizens for arming themselves...and generate some fee income for the government.

A few states in the USA, such as New Jersey, at one time required that the homeowner retreat if possible. However, the idea that a homeowner should have to flee from his own dwelling was so repugnant to most people that most of those laws have been changed. But it is not license to shoot anyone who enters your house. In most states, it is legal to use deadly force to stop a "forcible felony." Still, the vast majority of legal uses of a firearm involve simply brandishing the gun and causing the criminal to retreat. Alabama is one of many "stand your ground" states, which don't even require that you retreat if you are out on the street. My own lawyer, a county prosecutor in New Jersey, told me that regardless of the actual law, it would be difficult to get a jury to convict, say, an elderly woman homeowner who shot a burly home invader with a long criminal record. It still depends on the unique circumstances of each case. I'm glad to see that Ireland has changed its law, and I hope the rest of the UK does the same. Self-defense is a fundamental right that government cannot take away. All but a few states now readily issue concealed carry permits, and the predicted bloodbath never materialized. Ireland would not regret allowing its law-abiding citizens to arm themselves.

It sounds to me that this Mayo farmer who shot the intruder was guilty of manslaughter if not murder unless there was more to the story than appeared in the article. Doesn't Ireland have a tradition of letting you camp overnight on a farmer's land as a tourist? What about the Tinkers who traditionally travel around and encamp?

As an NRA member for over 30 years in the USA my point to make is why own a firearm if you cannot defend yourself?

This is in response to tinkers.