My Home Defense

By Ben L. Sechrist

Dear Criminals,

Don't worry about learning the high technology alarm systems on the market today with an eye towards disabling them.

I am a Computer Network Administrator in a VERY HIGH TECH WORLD and knowledgeable about differing types of high tech home defense systems including ADT and others of that type. The reason I mention this is because of my choice for burglar alarms and home defense. I choose the low tech home safety devices.

My home has probably the safest, most reliable, and manageable home defense programs ever invented. It has never gone off due to error, loss of power, or any other reason unless needed. It is not connected to phone lines, databases, or warning systems outside of my home.

It is simply a VERY large Chow dog, three 12 gauge shotguns, two 15 year old boys (twins) that know how to use them (much to the horror of the local school system), two automatic handguns (45s) for me, and a revolver for my wife. All are loaded (including the dog with a set of VERY BIG TEETH) and ready. Coupled with neighbors that depend on each other and watch out for the properties around us it is more than enough to defend our homes.

Whenever we are home, or when we aren't, we have plenty of warning when someone approaches, and we are capable of defending ourselves if needed. We live in the country on some acres that are in East Texas. I live far enough out of any town that I actually built a good shooting range in the back area of my acres. This gives all of us a place to practice, gives us a family pastime that we all enjoy, and most of all we keep ourselves ready to use the weapons whenever they are needed to protect our home. Someone that owns a gun should always keep in mind that the gun's use requires a familiarity with the weapon. Without the familiarity, you are almost as dangerous to yourself and family as you are to a criminal.

To put it simply, a criminal would either be crazy or have a death wish to rob my home. The dog alone would probably cause the criminal to search for another place to rob (or maybe lose some body parts if he tried to rob our home). The dog is house trained and stays indoors most of the time). However, if they decide that they can brave the dog, the criminals still have to avoid the owners, each of whom do not appreciate the downtrodden criminal that wants to rob us with possible physical harm in doing so.

Fortunately we live in an area that does not require us to be defenseless like that caused by anti-gun laws in Washington D.C., New York City, or Chicago to mention some of the more famous anti-gun (read defenseless American) cities. This is one of the reasons I live in Texas and in the country.

To put it mildly, the home alarm companies, Sheriff’s Office, or any other organization that would be the recipient of a 911 call would not be able to find my home.

My neighbor recently (6 months ago) called 911 for a medical emergency, 1 1/2 hours later the neighbor drove his family member to the hospital because the emergency medical central office in our county could not locate the address. I imagine that the police would have the same difficulty with a personal experience to prove my surmise.

I have called the Sheriff’s Office once in the seven years I have lived here, and it only took them three hours to respond. Of course that call was only for a theft/burglary happening next door (next door is 1/2 mile away) so it wasn't urgent I guess. The thieves were able to drive off with a large 20 X 20 shed full of tools after loading it onto a trailer. Makes sense to depend on the 911 system doesn't it? If the law had allowed I would have gone there to stop the thieves, but since I am not a law enforcement officer all I could legally do (since they were not threatening me personally) was to note license tag numbers, descriptions of the thieves, time of day, and make a call to 911. If I had tried to stop them the law says I would be assaulting the thieves (makes sense right?). I can gather the information but, if I try to make a citizen's arrest, the criminal will have the right to sue me, although I cannot think of a reason some lawyer would be glad to sue me. If for no other reason, I invaded the criminal's privacy and pursuit of happiness, I guess.

Needless to say, if it were not for families such as mine, men of principle like you and I, and the honest people of America defending themselves, the criminals would be doing whatever they wanted and anarchy would be the result. Not just a robbery of an empty home, but as England and Australia have seen since the citizens have been disarmed by the government, a horrendous increase in break-ins and physical harm of honest people and their homes. The criminals don't have to worry about someone that has a gun in those countries anymore. After all, why should they wait until the owners are gone?

I suppose I should tell you one more thing about myself and family (this includes my twin sons as well as my wife too). First, I am a veteran that took an oath to defend the US Constitution (and nowhere in the oath did it say I had a time henceforth where the oath was invalid). My wife, as a veteran, took the same oath, and my sons have already started planning on which service to join. My oldest twin will go into the US Army like I did, and my youngest twin will go into the Air Force as his uncle did. Yes, I brought them up as American Patriots with a determination to be Americans. They believe in the freedoms I do.

In the anti-gun Brady Bunch's estimation, I am a bad father. What can I say? I make a lousy victim, which is probably why I vote Republican most of the time even though I am in Independent by nature. Scary thought isn't it? If enough Independents were to get together and vote the way we feel, we would be the major party of America. There are Independents in the Republican and Democratic Parties. They are the ones that are the "swing voters".

We should all be ready to defend our homes. I am lucky enough to have had parents that believed in personal defense as well as the ability to own and use weapons sensibly. I have been trained in defense and weapons as long as I can remember. I have instilled this in my sons. They and I believe in the ability not to sit and be victims. That includes watching others become victims. That is why I have a low tech defense system. The system works, is never out of action due to power loss, and best of all not dependent on anyone except the home owners. If you decide to get a home alarm system I suggest one like the one I use, of course the weapons to back that home defense up, and the skills needed to use them. It is a system that so far has never failed my family.