Home invasion. Stand your ground? Not in ADT’s world. According to What to Do If a Home Invasion Occurs “Priority one . . . is to get you and your family out of the house. Material possessions can be replaced, but life cannot. Most people conducting break-ins aren’t interested in causing harm to anyone, but a robber may panic or become violent when confronted, potentially causing injury or death to the people you love. It’s better to get everyone out of the house and avoid possible bloodshed.” And what if there are bad guys outside? No se. At least ADT acknowledges that waiting outside for the po-po to show can be a real drag . . .
Depending on your city, and its violent crime rate, it may take some time for police to respond to your home invasion call, especially if they know everyone is safely out of the home. They take their duty to protect and defend seriously, but must prioritize responses according to risk; as they should, lives in danger will trump property in danger every time. Do not try to go inside because you’re tired of waiting.
Daddy! I need the bathroom! As for home defense firearms . . .
There is one thing you should avoid doing during a home invasion: don’t give the invader a weapon he didn’t have walking in. If you are confronted, or were unable to successfully escape your home undetected, do not to pull a weapon you aren’t prepared to use. Otherwise, you run the risk of the intruder taking your weapon and using it on you or your family.
Pull a weapon? If home invaders are invading I’m not “pulling” anything. I’m aiming. And while I appreciate the anonymous author’s hat tip to our previous post on will vs. skill, I’m getting tired of the anti-gun meme that says that weapons retention is an armed home defender’s most pressing concern.
Strangely enough, making your home unattractive to home invaders is Job One: perimiter lighting, secure doors and windows, a brace of Schnauzers, that sort of thing. A list that includes, wait for it, a good alarm system (with panic buttons) and alarm monitoring service.
Job Two: gathering friendlies and assuming a defensive position inside the house (unless it’s guaranteed safe outside and you and yours have a rallying point). If not that, or after that, neutralizing the threat—before they can get close enough to grab your weapon—would be right at the top of your To-Do list.
Home carry people. Home carry.
Anyway, it’s nice to see ADT even mention firearms (even if they don’t use the “f” or “g” words). It shows that the times they are a changin’. One day, they may even offer more specific and comprehensive advice on the subject of armed home defense. Wouldn’t that be something? [h/t to Jose Juan Carlos]