Could have been a victim...

Submitted by reader as PAC news...

This bright and beautiful morning could have turned ugly in an instant and I was reminded how quickly a situation can change.

As I exited my local Circuit City (Best Buy is still posted with the NO GUNS sign) I found myself a few feet from a guy sitting on broken glass and ripping out a stereo from a new Lincoln Navigator. It was parked in the very first spot, closest to the front door of the store. I stopped in my tracks and observed all I could, then wrote the license number down on the box of the item I had just purchased. There was eye-to-eye contact as he threw the stereo in his car and sped off.

I was able to give store security the information and was told it was the third smash and grab this week!!!

After I had a little while to think about what had just taken place, I realized how important it could have been to defend myself had the thief chosen to not leave behind a witness writing down his license number. While I had that ability at Circuit City, the situation could have been quite the opposite at Best Buy where my gun would have been locked in my truck and I could have been totally at the mercy of the thief.

We never know when and where the need to defend oneself will arise. Today, it could have been late morning in a "nice" part of town only a few feet from the front door of a store. This incident will help me be more aware of my surroundings and be more resentful of businesses that deny me the right to defend myself if needed.

Ed Killoran
Canal Winchester, Ohio