I would however point out a couple of things:
1. this very heroic older gentleman is a DEMOCRAT; and
2. Iowa is typcally a BLUE state - you know, LIBERAL
3. the Congressman didn't require a gun to confront the intruder, just training.
By way of MSNBC news staff and news services:
Congressman, grandson fight off armed intruder
77-year-old Rep. Boswell wrestles man who attacked his daughter at Iowa farm home; grandson grabs a shotgun
DES MOINES, Iowa — An eight-term congressman from Iowa helped fight off an armed man who invaded his farm house in Decatur County and attacked his daughter on Saturday night, according to a statement from his office. The attack occurred around 10:45 p.m. on Saturday at a farm in Lamoni, where Rep. Leonard Boswell, a 77-year-old Democrat who represents Iowa's third congressional district, was spending the weekend with his wife, daughter and grandson. "The intruder entered the front door of the farm house and physically assaulted Cindy while demanding money at gunpoint," read the statement from Boswell's office. After hearing his daughter's screams, the congressman "entered the walkway of their house and immediately went for the guy's gun and was wrestling with him. They were both on the ground," Boswell's chief of staff Grant Woodard told local news station KCCI.
Charlie Neibergall / AP file Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, helped fight off an invader at his farm house on Saturday night. While the two scuffled, Boswell's 22-year-old grandson Mitchell Brown grabbed a shotgun from a nearby room and confronted the intruder, who then fled into the surrounding field and reportedly was still on the run."The congressman just did what anybody would do if he knew his family was in trouble," said Woodard. "He jumped right into the situation and helped his daughter." "Besides some scrapes and bruises, Congressman Boswell and his family are fine," read the statement. Boswell lives in Des Moines and owns the farm in southern Iowa.The Decatur County Sheriff's Department and state and federal authorities are investigating. The sheriff's department said Saturday that the intruder had not been caught."The congressman says the military is the best training for situations like this," said Woodard, referring to Boswell's 20-year military career. "It's a wakeup call to everybody to take precautions and do what they need to do to keep their family safe." Reuters contributed to this report.
Well done, Congressman!
Congressman, grandson fight off armed intruder
77-year-old Rep. Boswell wrestles man who attacked his daughter at Iowa farm home; grandson grabs a shotgun
DES MOINES, Iowa — An eight-term congressman from Iowa helped fight off an armed man who invaded his farm house in Decatur County and attacked his daughter on Saturday night, according to a statement from his office.
The attack occurred around 10:45 p.m. on Saturday at a farm in Lamoni, where Rep. Leonard Boswell, a 77-year-old Democrat who represents Iowa's third congressional district, was spending the weekend with his wife, daughter and grandson.
"The intruder entered the front door of the farm house and physically assaulted Cindy while demanding money at gunpoint," read the statement from Boswell's office.
After hearing his daughter's screams, the congressman "entered the walkway of their house and immediately went for the guy's gun and was wrestling with him. They were both on the ground," Boswell's chief of staff Grant Woodard told local news station KCCI.
Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, helped fight off an invader at his farm house on Saturday night.
While the two scuffled, Boswell's 22-year-old grandson Mitchell Brown grabbed a shotgun from a nearby room and confronted the intruder, who then fled into the surrounding field and reportedly was still on the run.
"The congressman just did what anybody would do if he knew his family was in trouble," said Woodard. "He jumped right into the situation and helped his daughter."
"Besides some scrapes and bruises, Congressman Boswell and his family are fine," read the statement. Boswell lives in Des Moines and owns the farm in southern Iowa.
The Decatur County Sheriff's Department and state and federal authorities are investigating. The sheriff's department said Saturday that the intruder had not been caught.
"The congressman says the military is the best training for situations like this," said Woodard, referring to Boswell's 20-year military career. "It's a wakeup call to everybody to take precautions and do what they need to do to keep their family safe."
Reuters contributed to this report. 
"It's a wakeup call to everybody to take precautions and do what they need to do to keep their family safe."
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean we should all have ashotgun handy in the house? The article doesn't say, but I wonder if that shotgun was locked in a safe?
Yes, well done, Mr. Boswell.
ReplyDeleteDog gone: “1. this very heroic older gentleman is a DEMOCRAT”
NRA endorsed Democrat.
Dog gone: “3. the Congressman didn't require a gun to confront the intruder, just training.”
But the grandson did, and that is what ended the conflict. The presence of the gun in the home was certainly a good thing.
You mean how the assailant fled .....
ReplyDeletea)after scuffling with the 77 year old Boswell?
or was it
b)Boswell's 22-year-old grandson Mitchell Brown grabbed a shotgun from a nearby room and confronted the intruder.
What if Boswell had been alone and unable to get to the Shotgun?
ReplyDeleteThey were both on the ground," Boswell's chief of staff Grant Woodard told local news station KCCI.
ReplyDelete...."The congressman says the military is the best training for situations like this," said Woodard, referring to Boswell's 20-year military career.
While there is no doubt that the grandson expedited things, it does sound as if the congressman had the situation well in hand, if he had the attacker down. While I agree that it was useful to have a gun in the house in this instance - which is why I headlined it an appropriate application of the Castle Doctrine, hint hint - it seems from the second quote, that the good Congressman felt he was handling things just fine with his 20 years of military service training, and no gun and without the assistance of his grandson.
The cornfield (Iowa)is not as blue as made out to be in fact as a native son I am embarrassed these days to say I'm from there.
ReplyDeleteToo many are just bat crazy religious nutters. They reelected this prick Bransted as Gov who is similar in style to the loon in Wisconny. Bagger stories from all over the place and the whore Des Moines Register gives them plenty of space.
As for the story - farm boys know how to kick ass. Good on this guy. That prick is still hiding out there.
1) I'm surprised you aren't criticizing the lack of safe storage for the Congressman's shotgun. How many stories are printed here criticizing that very thing when an accident happens.
ReplyDeleteYet the lack of safe storage is approved of in this instance because the result is positive.
Just pointing out the irony.
The grandson could have just as easily clubbed that man while he was on the ground with a baseball bat.
Fascinating story. I agree with Dog Gone's conclusion that the situation was well in hand when the home shotgun came into play.
ReplyDeleteIf the grandson shot the intruder, which all of you gun lovers would have applauded, I'd say that would be a wrong application of the castle doctrine. Since he didn't and just chased the bad guy away, it was good.
I'm opposed to guns in the home being at the ready, even if there are no kids around.
MikeB: “I agree with Dog Gone's conclusion that the situation was well in hand when the home shotgun came into play.”
ReplyDeleteAn elderly man wrestling with a young man with a gun is “well in hand”?
Mike: “Since he didn't and just chased the bad guy away, it was good.”
It was not good that he got away. He will hurt someone else down the road. I don’t advocate the vigilante shooting of someone who is running away, but let’s not pretend this was the best outcome for society. The grandson had to do what is best for his family. If the threat was over, it is best to not have to endure the consequences (both legally and morally) of shooting someone in order to protect his next victim. I would have done the same, but no, it is not all roses.
MikeB: “I'm opposed to guns in the home being at the ready, even if there are no kids around.”
So you oppose what the grandson did.
TS wrote:"An elderly man wrestling with a young man with a gun is “well in hand”?"
ReplyDeleteTS, since the intruder was never caught, and as his probable age is NOT included in any description, nor his physical characteristics such as height, weight, or musculature, your assertion about the intruder being a young man are not justified.
Further, there are other factors which reasonably contributed to the intruder fleeing besides the shotgun:
1. he was outnumbered, not ony by the Congressman's grand son, but by the Congressman's daughter, and presumably the Congressman's wife. That would put the intruder outnumbered by at least three to one, possibly four to one, including one male who WAS clearly identified as young (who it could be inferred was strong and healthy, given the circumstances described).
2. sufficient time was elapsing in struggling with the Congressman that it was increasingly likely that a 911 call had been made by the daughter Cindy afer she was rescued from the attack, and that law enforcement could reasonably be expected at any minute.
3. it is not clear if the shotgun was secured or not secured; given the sensible and responsible approach taken by the entire family, so far as one may speculate reasonably, it would seem to me to be more likely that the shotgun had been secure when this took place. It took the grandson long enough to get the shotgun for the Congressman to wrestle the intruder to the ground, and disarm him, or at least neutralize his use of the intruder's hand gun.
Based on the above, yes it seems perfectly reasonable that the intruder was losing the conflict, and therefore fled. I will agree that the shotgun did not hurt the success of the situation, but it is not apparent the shotgun was the deciding factor in the intruder's exit.
I don't see that the grandson had a lot of leeway to shoot the intruder, unless it was clear that his grandfather was losing, and therefore in immenent danger, which does not appear to be the case from the available information, given he is unlikely to have had a clear shot while the two were wrestling on the floor.
So, TS, and the rest of you who are commenting in opposition - please read a little more carefully and more objectively before leaping to conclusions beyond what the report supports.
The only preparation the Congressman specifically mentions is military training; he does not mention gun ownership one way or the other.
Dog gone: “your assertion about the intruder being a young man are not justified.”
ReplyDeleteI don’t like to make assumptions, but in this case I am taking the bold leap that the attacker is less than 77 years old. Significantly younger I would guess.
Dog gone: “…and that law enforcement could reasonably be expected at any minute.”
They are on a farm. I think you are over estimating 911 response time. Besides, “any minute” is an eternity in this situation, and the police are going to show up with guns- like the grandson did.
Dog gone: “it is not clear if the shotgun was secured or not secured; given the sensible and responsible approach taken by the entire family…”
The shotgun was described as being “loaded”, and that he went to a nearby room and grabbed it. That doesn’t sound like he opened a safe, a box of ammo, and loaded it. You are right about them being sensible and responsible though.
While the two scuffled, Boswell's grandson Mitchell grabbed a loaded .12-gauge shotgun from a nearby room and confronted the intruder, who then fled into the surrounding field and reportedly was still on the run.
Dog gone: “I will agree that the shotgun did not hurt the success of the situation, but it is not apparent the shotgun was the deciding factor in the intruder's exit.”
The official statement from the congressman’s office says the conflict ended when the grandson pointed the shotgun at the intruder. Why are you trying to minimize this aspect so bad?
A home invasion at Rep. Leonard Boswell's Iowa farm ended when his 22-year-old grandson fetched a shotgun and aimed it at the intruder, according to a statement from the congressman's office.
Dog gone: “So, TS, and the rest of you who are commenting in opposition”
Whoa there, I am not commenting in opposition. This is a fantastic case of DGU and a family being prepared for an unlikely but horrible scenario.
Dog gone: “The only preparation the Congressman specifically mentions is military training; he does not mention gun ownership one way or the other.”
Keep in mind he is A rated by the NRA and they train with guns in the military. He felt he needed to rush in right away because his daughter was in immediate danger (no time to dial 911, no time to run into the other room and grab a gun) and her life was more important than his own. He is a hero.
No one said it was all rosy, TS. But even you would not have shot the escaping bad guy in the back. So letting him run was really the only right thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI said I'm opposed to guns being at the ready in the home. You want to escalate that to my being opposed to what the grandson did. Fine.
Even if the kid with the shotgun did save the day, which is not altogether clear, for every one of those there are several in which the gun is misused.
MikeB: “Even if the kid with the shotgun did save the day, which is not altogether clear…”
ReplyDeleteIt was made clear my the congressman who said he “ended” the conflict with the shotgun.
MikeB: “…for every one of those there are several in which the gun is misused.”
I know you admit there are valid DGUs and this is clearly one of them. It seems your contention is that these people should be sacrificed for the greater good so that fewer people will commit suicide or accidently shoot a family member or have a gun stolen that ends up being used in a drive-by.
Let's turn it around shall we. You would sacrifice all those innocent babies who kill themselves with daddy's gun, and all those depressed teens who do it, and all those negligence victims during gun cleaning, you would sacrifice all those for the few really valid DGUs there are?
ReplyDeleteMikeB: “You would sacrifice all those innocent babies who kill themselves with daddy's gun, and all those depressed teens who do it, and all those negligence victims during gun cleaning, you would sacrifice all those for the few really valid DGUs there are?”
ReplyDeleteYes. You don’t get how freedom works. The important thing is that neither you nor I get to decide who lives and dies in some vain effort at the greater good.
Since you linked to that Colbert episode, did you see the part where the professor was arguing how it is wrong to kill and eat one person so three others can survive? Aside from that, you haven’t even shown that your policies will save lives, so you are just talking about straight up letting people die because they didn’t have adequate tools for protection, and you are doing that without any gain. The stories of toddlers getting guns can easily- EASILY be prevented with common senses. That is real “common sense” not the kind that gun control likes to spout on about. And I have shown you multiple times that there is no relationship between firearms and suicide rates. Firearms and suicide by firearm- yes, but that is useless information.
TS, You innocent baby killer, you. Who said your definition of freedom is the one we all have to accept. I don't think that's freedom at all and certainly not worth the price you say we must pay for it.
ReplyDeleteAbout my not having proven gun control would work, well that's a matter of opinion. There's plenty of common sense that supports what I say, you just refuse to accept it. And there are plenty of stats too, but again you reject them.
And I'm sorry but I must have missed the plenty of times you showed me "there is no relationship between firearms and suicide rates." So unconvincing must have been your argument that I honestly don't even remember it.