destructive youth

I take it this was just now? Wow the house must suck so bad that roaming the hood in near-freezing temps after the bars close to knock over planters is a better option for entertainment.

Children raised by idiots.

Sorry had to correct that, ain't no raising happening in these cases, and even if their parents are adults biologically adults, they're not mentally & emotionally. That total lack of respect for others & their posessions is one of the things that frustrates me most. If only those idle hands would be used for destroying litter, dog crap, graffiti, etc. we'd have a win-win.

they were on the 1100 Block of Marlborough too. We called the police and they said they were dispatched.

I've been reading about this incident in Center City involving the kid getting punch in a cab. A bunch of people are commenting on how in the city, it's pointless to defend yourself against an attack due to the strictness of certain laws. One would need to flee instead of fighting back (presumably in defense). Has anyone ever heard this before?

It all goes back to the parents. Monkey see monkey do

I can't wait until these dopes run into somebody who has a license to carry

Google "Gerald Ung".

I don't quite understand why someone would say that (though if it's Philly.com commenters, just ignore everything they're saying).

You have an absolute right to defend yourself if you are attacked, but you have to use reasonable force. You may also expect to be arrested at the scene while the police sort everything out, and it's possible that you might be charged as well. But if it's truly self defense, it's worth it, IMO.

I'd rather roll the dice telling my story to a judge and jury than be incapacitated or dead.

Naturally, it's almost always better to walk away if you can. The "problem" that some people may be lamenting is that one cannot escalate a situation to defend oneself. If you can get out safely, just GFTO, don't fall prey to the machismo "never back down" nonsense.

THIS! - "Naturally, it's almost always better to walk away if you can. The "problem" that some people may be lamenting is that one cannot escalate a situation to defend oneself. If you can get out safely, just GFTO, don't fall prey to the machismo "never back down" nonsense."

by the way, leo, did your hot chocolate k cups come? ours did the end of last week. just waiting for some cold weather.

Amen.

I love how people take things to extremes. Honestly, I don't see a reason to carry in the city except during certain hours and circumstances but I avoid putting myself in those circumstances where I need to carry all the time. So therefore I don't.

Inside my house is a different story. I will absolutely not tolerate someone coming into my house uninvited, and if I happen to be home--anything goes. I know what the law is, where it protects me, what it says I can and cannot do. I read every single word of the PA Castle Doctrine act after it hit the printers.

I do know that even if I am forced to exercise my right under duress I will still be subjected to the risk of incarceration, interrogation and trial. And I'm fine with that.

And that is a last-resort. I have an alarm system, a dog that barks at the slightest noise and right now there's a guy outside my house putting up the security cameras as I type this, so hopefully those precautions will prevent the need for ever having to reach for the 2nd Amendment. I don't want to have to exercise it and most gun owners don't want to, either.

But we can continue to mentally masturbate that all gun owners are nutbags and are peeved that we can't shoot clay pigeons at Hetzell's and go deer huntin' down by the Delly.

Your dog certainly is terrifying too. All 5 pounds.

Just got em yesterday.

FWIW, I carry, though I'd rather walk away than escalate if I can help it.

The kids around here are a mess. I was coming home on my bike and a group of three kids came around a corner the wrong way, same corner I was turning into. I hit one kid's front tire, he didn't fall but I did. After getting my wits together and about to ask if everything's alright, the kid (guessing 14) starts verbally accusing me that I messed up his bike (his stem just twisted off alignment a little) and that he should take my bike. Then he wanted $20 to fix his bike, I sorta just rode off. Reasoning is impossible with these kids. The future is dim with this mentality.

The Castle Doctrine law has now changed this. You used to have to retreat outside your home, now you are allowed to stand your ground outside the home. Gerald Ung would have never gone to trial if this law was in effect at the time of his incident.

Because kids don't understand what it means to work for and pay for something... it's not something new, and it's not something specific to the location...

When we were kids, we thought it was hilarious to drive through a trailer park at night and swap everybody's lawn ornaments... little did we understand that somebody worked a 50 hour week to pay for that stupid lawn gnome...

I don't think it's about location or bad parenting- I think it's more "kids are arseholes", tbh..

the little kid (about 6 years old) that lives next door to me carved a 24" gang monogram into the passenger door of my truck... I don't blame parenting as much as I blame his inherent evil.

Just my take.

The police are just not doing their jobs.

OR..there are not enough police to get the job done.

This is not a correct statement of the law as it was before the "Castle Doctrine".

The law was that one had to retreat if he knew that by retreating that he could safely escape.

Even if the Ung shooting happened under the Castle Doctrine, Ung would have nevertheless gone to trial because of the circumstances: complaining witness was a white 'Nova kid who played sports and whose dad is politically connected; possible drinking; video tape.