It is a sad reality that we must be wary of criminal activity even when in the sanctity of our own home. However, realty remains. Home invasions happen with more frequency than most realize. There are more illegal home entries (the majority being burglaries when people are not home) than there are house fires each year. Therefore, having your home invaded by a criminal, whether while the house is occupied or empty, is more likely than experiencing a fire. I find it ironic that all of the anti-gunners who see no need to have a firearm in their home are certainly diligent about their smoke alarms. My opinion is that a home absent of either is a display of irresponsibility and stupidity. Well, to each his own.
A common tactic used by home invaders is to get the resident to open the door for them. This is often accomplished through a ruse in which someone who looks harmless comes to the door and asks for something like donations for a charity, or feigns to be providing a service, etc… Once the door opens so that the ever-polite suburbanite homeowner can chat with the stranger, the team of invaders crouched off to the sides of the door burst through the portal. Once inside, what happens to the family of the home is left up to the upstanding citizens that just broke in. Don’t find yourself in that situation. Relying on the mercy of such degenerates is not where you want to be.
So, how do we avoid such an unpleasant outcome? Well, the first step is quite simple: DON’T OPEN YOUR DOOR FOR PEOPLE YOU DON’T KNOW. I hear the scoffs now. “Well, now, that is quite rude! After all, it is most likely just a neighborly contractor or the boy scouts knocking on the door.” Yes, it is most likely that. But, why wear a seatbelt? It is most likely that you don’t get in a car accident every day. As a society, we need to wake up. These things happen and with just a slight lifestyle adjustment you can avoid the possibility.
When answering the door to a stranger, you must be able to identify that it is indeed a stranger. A peephole or a camera system is needed. Once you identify that you do not know the person on the other side of the door your decision is simple. Respond to the person through the door, don’t open it. A simple “who is it” will suffice. Once the response comes, blow it off. Here is a great excuse to use: “sorry, but I have a lot of people here right now and I am cooking, I can’t talk right now.” Now, you have just denied initial entry and simultaneously introduced the possibility that there are many people in the house.
Beyond just not opening the door, make sure your door is secure. Most residential doors are one-kick doors. Literally, most doors with only a locking nob can be kicked open in one powerful blow. You should have the door at least locked with the nob and an additional dead bolt and both should be re-enforced with deep-set screws in the strike plates. This will turn a one-kick door into a several kick door, thus buying you more time to react. Another great solution, which I highly recommend as an additional security measure, is to have a security bar that shoves up and under the doorknob. These things make breaching the door extremely difficult and time consuming. Any door can be breached, but a door that gives you additional time allows you to prepare.
Should home invaders be pounding on your door, get your loved ones into your designated safe room and arm yourself immediately, then call 911. Once the door fails its show time. Being barricaded in your safe room with your loved ones behind you and your gun in your hand is the place to be rather than being attacked while you stand in your own open doorway.
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