[federali]

There have been many burglaries of occupied dwellings in which the burglars got what they could without disturbing the occupants. And, of course, there are the home invasions where the objective is to confront the occupants and force them to disclose the location of valuables. You would have to ask a criminal lawyer exactly how the law classifies breaking and entering of an occupied dwelling compared to a vacant dwelling as often occurs with daytime burglaries.

In using the term "property crime" I'm referring to all those nuisance crimes that involve theft without a direct confrontation with the victim. To add to the confusion, a person who has been burglarized will often say that they have been robbed. I think robbery requires direct victim encounter, a much more serious crime and one which sometimes justifies deadly force.

When you consider the very real and substantial criminal and civil ramifications of confronting someone with a gun, whether or not shots are fired, I think it's best to restrict armed intervention to only when innocent life is threatened. As a young man, I was the neighborhood ninja. With age comes wisdom and I don't plan to throw my remaining life away for a neighbor's car or TV set.

Also, home invasions, at least the term, is a relatively new form of crime. I don't know if any state legislatures have yet passed any laws making home invasions a separate class of crime.