Gun Nut Shoots Gun Nut

It was bound to happen. In fact, it has probably happened thousands of times since the musket was invented. Someone with a gun and a grudge shot someone else in an impulsive moment. The following story is from the Associated Press, dateline Helena Montana: "A northwestern Montana man shot and killed the host of the Sportsman Channel show 'A Rifleman's Journal' in an apparent jealous rage while the TV personality was visiting the shooter's wife, police said Friday. Wayne Bengston, 41, then beat his wife, took his 2-year-old son to a relative's house and drove to his home about 25 miles away in West Glacier, where he killed himself, Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial said. 'It's pretty much an open-and-closed case. Homicide and suicide,' Dial said. Police identified the shooting victim as Gregory G. Rodriguez, 43, of Sugar Land, Texas. Bengston's wife told police that Rodriguez was in town on business and visiting her at her mother's house in Whitefish when her husband showed up Thursday at about 10:30 p.m." Beware of middle-aged men with anger issues who are packing heat. They are deadly, and can pull the trigger in a rage at a moment's notice. Even "The Rifleman" himself was not safe, because there is no time or warning to prepare to defend oneself in such cases. This is the reason why the argument that carrying a gun for self-defense purposes is bogus. It is much more likely that a gun owner will be murdered intentionally or unintenionally than it is that he will successfully defend himself against attack. Just ask The Rifleman. Oops...too late.