Jeremy King, a resident of Lithia, Florida, a small town east of Tampa, was enjoying a quiet evening at home last Wednesday night with his wife, who is eight months pregnant, and their 11-year-old daughter. Suddenly, without warning, two masked and armed thugs broke down his back door and started demanding money and anything else of value.

Here’s how it went down, according to King:

They came in heavily hooded and masked. As soon as they got the back door opened, they had a pistol on me and was grabbing my 11-year-old daughter.

I’m telling them: “I have nothing for you.” And they’re like, “Give me everything you got.” It became real violent, real fast.

One of the bandits started beating King with a pistol while the other began kicking him. His wife, hearing the commotion, left the back bedroom to see what was happening. That’s when one of the goons fired a round at her.

The round missed her, allowing her time to retrieve an AR-15 and return fire. King explained what happened next:

When he came toward the back door in her line of sight, she clipped him. He made it from my back door to roughly 200 feet out in the front ditch before the AR did its thing.… Them guys came in with two … pistols and my AR stopped it. [My wife] evened the playing field and kept them from killing me.

Police investigators found the body of a Hispanic male in his 20s lying in the ditch. The other outlaw escaped and remains at large.

They left King with serious injuries: “I’ve got a fractured eye socket, a fractured sinus cavity, a concussion, 20 stitches and three staples in my head. I took a severe beating.”

It could have been much worse. If his wife hadn’t had access to a firearm, the ending might have been tragic for King, his wife, and their daughter. As Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), told his supporters via e-mail: “This is yet another example of why the Second Amendment must be zealously defended. Those who would ban such rifles, and restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens to make it impossible to defend themselves and their families against violent thugs, would have innocent blood on their hands. This was an obviously harrowing experience and we are delighted that the King family is alive, safe and well.”

David Workman, communications director for CCRKBA, stated: “This story has made national news and it helps send a message that law-abiding citizens use firearms to defend themselves every day, putting the lie to claims by gun banners that nobody needs an AR-type rifle. This case clearly says otherwise.”

Following the December 2012 mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 26 people dead, the NRA’s Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre told a news conference that “the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.” This was in the context of his criticism of gun-free school zones and his suggestion that providing armed security in schools would militate against further such shootings.

LaPierre was immediately mocked for suggesting such a thing. It was “ludicrous,” “an insult,” and “insane,” said Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. What no one called LaPierre was “sexist” for suggesting that only “guys” with a gun could help prevent such shootings.

Without the freedom to own and use such weaponry, by either sex, shootings by deranged killers at schools or armed thugs such as those faced by King and his family last week will continue and increase. After all, such proposed limitations on law-abiding citizens never apply to criminals.

It’s not just good "guys” with guns who can effectively stop such crimes. As long as a firearm is available, who’s using it to defend hearth and home (or students in the classroom) is irrelevant.

Photo: MattGush / iStock / Getty Images Plus

An Ivy League graduate and former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American, primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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