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Texas Shop Owner Defends Against Disgruntled Ex-employee PDF Print E-mail
Written by Daniel White   
Thursday, 01 December 2005

Bill Rathburn, president of The Christmas Light Company, was forced to defend himself when a fired employee returned with a gun and threatened to kill two employees the morning of November 17th.
The former employee "was pointing a gun at two witnesses ... and made statements that he was going to kill them," said Dallas police Sgt. Dwaine Sides. "That's when the owner acted."

Sgt. Salverino said Mr. Rathburn heard his employees' screams and rushed out of his office.

"Drop the gun! Drop the gun!" he said Mr. Rathburn shouted before shooting the man multiple times.

The man fell on the concrete driveway just outside the warehouse. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

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While any loss of life is tragic, this incident clearly demonstrates that it is the actions of the individual, not the gun itself, that are good or evil. Had Rathburn not been armed himself, this story would have had a very different ending.

Unfortunately, there are millions of workers in this country who do not have the same ability to defend themselves against violent criminal attack due to anti-gun policies. These policies are often the result of poor legal advice and a misunderstanding of the issue at hand.

All anti-gun laws and policies only dissuade those who are inclined to follow them in the first place. Had a "no guns" policy been in effect at Rathburn's company, he and his employees would have been at the mercy of the gunman.

Rathburn's father, a former Dallas police chief issued a statement following the shooting:
"While the loss of life is tragic, our family is grateful that Bill was not hurt," the statement reads. "Bill was exercising his right to defend himself against an armed attacker. Obviously, I have great respect for our legal system and am confident the issue will be resolved appropriately."

The case has been turned over to a grand jury to determine if the shooting was justified. It seems pretty clear that this was a case of self-defense, as well as the defense of the other two employees who were threatened.