Cedric Milligan, 53, didn’t finish near the top of his high school class. In fact, he might not have finished high school at all given his lack of common sense in breaking into a woman’s home in Amarillo, Texas.
Only the lowest of the low-information types don’t know of the Lone Star State’s reputation for the widespread embrace of gun ownership. They love their guns in Texas just like they love baseball, apple pie and all things American – at least outside of Austin.
So unless someone is clinically stupid or has a death wish, most folks know it’s a very bad idea to violently force entry into occupied dwellings in most of the state.
We might never know what Cedric Milligan had in mind when he smashed in the rear door to a woman’s residence in Amarillo last week. She heard the break-in, grabbed her gun and shot Mr. Milligan dead right there. No, she didn’t need a Mulligan to take care of Milligan.
From the Amarillo Police Department . . .
DATE: June 22, 2023
TIME: 5:26AM
CASE NUMBER: 23-510177
INCIDENT TYPE: Homicide
OFFICER SUBMITTING RELEASE: Sgt. Burr-PIO
DETAILS:
On Thursday June 22, at 5:26am, officers were sent to a residence in the 1700 block of N Adams on a person trying to break into a home and the homeowner was armed.
When officers arrived, they were told the male suspect had forced his way into the home and the homeowner had shot him. The suspect is deceased, and is identified as Cedric Milligan, male, age 53. Next of kin has been notified.
The Amarillo Police Homicide Unit is investigating.
If you listen to gun control industry types like the folks at the Violence Policy Center, these things never actually happen.
In fact, the second highest “Google” search for “women defending their home” returns this “study” from the Violence Policy Center. Spoiler alert: VPC claims only twelve women used a handgun to kill an attacker in all of 1998.
A Deadly Myth: Women, Handguns, and Self-Defense
In the late 1980s, the gun industry began targeting women to counter slumping handgun sales among its primary market of white males. The false message delivered by gunmakers was clear: the greatest threat posed to a woman was an attack by a stranger and, the best form of protection a woman could rely upon was a handgun.1
Much to the disappointment and consternation of the gun industry, these efforts for the most part have failed. A 1995 study by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) conducted by Tom Smith and Robert J. Smith found that handgun ownership among women was, and remains, uncommon. This study found any fluctuations in the percentage of women who owned handguns to be statistically insignificant…
Conclusion
Currently, only a small minority of adult American women own a handgun. Before a woman purchases a handgun for protection, she must pause to consider whether the grave risk—in 1998, a woman was 101 times more likely to be murdered with a handgun than to use a handgun to justifiably kill an attacker—is one she is willing to accept.
The only thing missing from the VPC’s report is “Once upon a time” at the beginning and “happily ever after” at the end.
Much has changed in America since 1998. Most large urban centers are governed by “progressive” politicians who’ve experimented with re-thinking criminal justice. That’s been reinforced by “progressive” prosecutors who refuse to enforce large sections of the criminal code.
The outcomes have been entirely predictable. One result is skyrocketing crime rates. Another is women learning that relying on elected officials to effectively run the criminal justice system and on police to help when they call is increasingly iffy. That’s why a recent Gallup survey found that unlike 1998 when only “a small minority” of women were gun owners, the share of women who own guns today has risen to 22%.
As for the Amarillo woman who defended her home, we’re glad she survived a nightmarish attack and wish her the best in her recovery. My first thought as an Illinois resident is that I hope she has a friend or relative who can loan her a replacement gun. But then I realized she lives in Texas. She’s probably has more of her own.