12-24-2008, 06:51 AM
The point is kids trying to stir up trouble in a neighborhood in the manner I described--remember, I've worked with these kids, and know the tricks first hand--throw light bulbs to simulate the sound of gunfire to draw policemen with near immunity. We live in a complicated world. If you live in a world where anti-gun zealotry is so extreme that it can be manipulated and utilized as a tool to commit crime, there is obviously a problem.
I wouldn't consider my neighbor shooting a rat to be "random gunfire." There's nothing random about it. Especially in a rural or near rural community. People have large problems with feral animals, and pig hunting is a fact of life for many local families. Obviously, I'm not asking people to determine by sound one caliber from another--that's craziness. But I don't think it asks a lot of discernment to tell the difference between a single "bang" and a "bang, bang---bangbangbangbang, bang bang."
Of course, if you hear something that "discernment" might suggest required a police presence, call the police! It is important to note that there are other risks in such behavior as well, and in the world we live in a higher level of common sense than is common is warranted, and as much as anything offer a counterpoint to what appears to me to be near hysterical paranoia.
I wouldn't consider my neighbor shooting a rat to be "random gunfire." There's nothing random about it. Especially in a rural or near rural community. People have large problems with feral animals, and pig hunting is a fact of life for many local families. Obviously, I'm not asking people to determine by sound one caliber from another--that's craziness. But I don't think it asks a lot of discernment to tell the difference between a single "bang" and a "bang, bang---bangbangbangbang, bang bang."
Of course, if you hear something that "discernment" might suggest required a police presence, call the police! It is important to note that there are other risks in such behavior as well, and in the world we live in a higher level of common sense than is common is warranted, and as much as anything offer a counterpoint to what appears to me to be near hysterical paranoia.