Tips on Home Defense

There has been a disturbing series of events in my area of the country as of late: home invasions. People looking for quick money target some elderly person and then in the dead of night simply barge in on them and through threats and intimidation, they rob these harmless folks.

It is just a bit too much to expect some one up in years and resting at home to be able to defend their home and property if someone wants to come in uninvited. Also having loaded guns in every pocket and two stashed under the cushions of the couch, while that would be nice and certainly not against my morals, is not realistic either.

What is needed here is a passive defense of ones home. Something visible that will deter thieves. Something unseen to be a last defense until help can arrive or a more active defense can be arranged.

There was a day and age in this very country where you did not dare have large windows in your home. Not only could some hungry animal gain entry but so could unfriendly hostiles that only walk on two legs. Homes in those days didn't even have door knobs. They used an ingenious loop of rope that could be passed in and out of the door so that during the day one could pull the latch open and shut to gain entry. And at night the rope could be pulled inside entirely, thus denying anyone outside to use that same rope to unlatch the door. We seem to be having those days come around again.

Just like in those days of log cabins and the defenses designed into them, we must again decide if we want to defend our homes when once again two legged hostiles may try to get in. The most obvious way to guard ones home is to bar the windows. City dwellers have been doing this for decades. The bars need to be on the outside of course and they need to have some mechanism that will allow the bars to swing to one side if exit through a window is ever needed in a hurry. The bars can be decorative, painted, and even integrated into the structure.

The next step is to simply bar the door. A heavy two by six dropped across the door will defy entry to anyone not equipped with some sort of heavy destructive power. In light of the fact that the resident of the house may be elderly and infirm, it would not be too much of a stretch to visualize this bar as being carried up and down on an electric pulley of some sort. In the malls of this country you can often see a sort of chain link fence that is lowered over the entrance during after hours. I think this might be a better idea especially as a panic button could be arranged to drop the fence and at the same time auto dial the telephone for assistance, and maybe activate a loud audible alarm.

Here in my state a soon to be retired state senator brought before the legislature a bill that he called the Castle Doctrin Bill. Simply stated this bill would not allow a home owner to be prosecuted for defending his home, property and loved ones. He could indeed immediately defend his home if someone entered his home uninvited. Before hand and I expect this is still the law of the land in many states, one is expected to retreat to the room farthest away from the intruder, and stay there. The only allowable defense is if and when the intruder should actually enter the room you are in and makes it clear that he intends harm to you. This particular bill passed into law here and I expect this home invasion deal has been part of the reason why it passed so easily.

The very thought of someone forcing their way into your home with intent to steal or inflict bodily harm should be enough to get you on the phone to your local legislature to get a similar bill passed in your state. Go get a concealed carry permit for a firearm. Take some self defense classes and learn to use that weapon. The safety of your family, your property and and your home are at stake.