By: Anthony Morelli
Gun grabbers are attacking a man who used his gun in self-defense.
He was arrested and hauled up on serious charges.
Now the right of self-defense is on the line as the state presses charges against an innocent man.
The most common reason why people own guns in this country is to protect themselves and their families in dangerous situations.
Self-defense has always been recognized as a right that people have, and people who use guns defensively are not supposed to be subject to criminal proceedings.
Apparently, however, that is changing. Hostile prosecutors in various states are using arcane legal requirements to nab gun owners who are forced to shoot people in self-defense.
They are trying to make it pointless to own a gun, since any usage of it, even to protect oneself and one’s family, will result in criminal charges no matter what.
That is exactly what is happening to a man in Pennsylvania who was forced to protect himself against an intruder.
Now he is having his life ruined by prosecutors who are looking to put him behind bars and make an example of him.
According to Bearing Arms, “When an intruder broke into a home belonging to Vincent Yakaitis last February, the property owner shot and injured the burglar. Now Yakaitis is facing criminal charges; not for the shooting itself, but because he didn’t have a concealed carry license at the time.”
“While most states allow gun owners to carry on their own property without the need for a carry permit, the law in Pennsylvania is quirky in that respect. In the Keystone State, legal gun owners can only lawfully carry without a license in their ‘place of abode’ or ‘fixed place of business’. Carrying anywhere else, even a house you own but rent out, is a misdemeanor offense, and now Yakaitis is looking at the possibility of spending time in prison for unlicensed carry on his own property.”
Those exact rules are the ones the prosecutors are using to try to put Yakaitis in jail to satisfy their hatred of gun owners.
The article continues, “Prosecutors have the discretion to file charges based on individual circumstances, and it’s appalling that Schuylkill County District Attorney Michael O’Pake has concluded that the interests of justice demand that Yakaitis face criminal charges for carrying on his own property without a concealed carry permit. O’Pake hasn’t charged the property owner, who’s in his mid-70s, with any sort of violent crime in connection with the shooting. His only ‘offense’ was assuming that he could lawfully carry in his house, even though it’s not his place of abode.”
This decision to charge Yakaitis is clearly a political one, since no reasonable person would conclude that Yakaitis was the bad guy in this situation.
O’Pake is trying to make a point here about guns, and he is charging a man who doesn’t deserve it.
This case will have far-reaching consequences for gun owners nationwide who may someday have to use a gun in a defensive situation.