With her dad's old .38

First, go read this one at Shooting the Messenger. Fits quotes the Brady Campaign:

While there are still many unanswered questions about the circumstances, one fact is undeniable: Sean Taylor’s tragic, untimely shooting death is the latest example that in America no one is safe from the scourge of gun violence.

Now let's tie this in with this post from The War On Guns.

The rejects suspected of being maniacs with murder in their evil hearts will, however, still have full unrestricted access to utility knives, fuel oil and fertilizer, and gasoline and matches, as well as be allowed to move freely throughout society.

Here's the truth: no one on Earth is safe from the scourge of violence. The medium used to commit an act of violent aggression against another human is irrelevant.

Keeping in mind the previous two links, examine now the case of Maria Pittaras (scroll down to "Man Shot Dead...").

Robert J. Metz made it a point to know most everyone in his neighborhood, beeping his car horn whenever he drove by anyone who was outside.

If somebody was building something, the 47-year-old construction worker was there to offer advice and often lend a hand.

But his happy-go-lucky demeanor masked a mental illness that was slowly consuming Metz, relatives say.

Maria Pittaras, 28, was something of an enigma in the neighborhood. She moved to the Turtle Lakes subdivision at the Pasco- Hillsborough counties line about a year ago, just around the corner from Metz and his wife, Carolyn, Pittaras' father recalls.

Neighbors didn't see her outside much; she did most of her real estate-related work from home. She kept her yard immaculate and occasionally entertained friends with outdoor barbecues, neighbors say.

[...]

Sometime before 2 a.m., Metz donned a dark mask and gloves, grabbed a knife and crawled into his neighbor's home through a window, sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said.

Metz crept into the bedroom as the woman slept, jumped on top of her and held the knife to her throat. She grabbed her .38-caliber pistol and fired two shots, striking Metz in the neck, Doll said.

So what do we have here? We have a man with a mental instability who tragically stopped taking his medication. However, he still had the mental capacity to wear a dark mask, disguising himself. He even had the forethought to wear gloves so that he would not leave fingerprints. It is not hard to speculate that his choice of a knife--rather than a gun--shows careful planning, because a knife makes no noise that might awaken the neighbors late in the night.

We can't say for sure what would have happened if Ms. Pittaras had not been armed with her father's gun, but it isn't hard to imagine that she would have been murdered, or raped, or both.

But she did have a gun, and she is still alive.

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