(Photo: Twitter/Ada County Sheriff’s Office)
Late last night, sirens were blaring. Officers roared past my house and down the hill to a neighbor’s place. Then, my wife Kara heard gunshots. Soon after, the neighbor’s house went up in flames- bright yellow scorching hot flames. The house was devoured in minutes. So far, three people have died.
More details will come soon, but here is what we know from speaking with police: Police received a 911 call from the residence around 10:30pm, claiming there was an intruder. Police arrived, engaged with an armed man, and shots were fired. The intruder re-entered the home and then the home burst into flames. Beyond that, details are scarce. At least 50 police and firemen arrived at the scene. So far today, many have remained in the area, trying to determine more details.
My home in Meridian has housed my family for the last 29 years. It’s only a few miles away from the dairy farm where multiple generations of my family, including myself, were raised. The Fulcher home is in a safe area surrounded by fields and farms, and is one of the last areas of Meridian that still has that “country” feel. But this isn’t the first time a threat has presented itself here.
In March of 2013, I was on the Idaho Senate floor when my phone rang. My kids were calling, saying a man had been shot and was at the door. They kept him outside the house in the doorway and placed a tourniquet on his leg, which was hemorrhaging blood. The man had been part of a drug deal gone wrong, and in an attempt to save his own life, jumped out of a moving car in front of my house. Three other men in the car shot at him, hitting him in the knee. My kids kept him in the covered doorway, called the police, and waited. Then, the shooters came back, and pulled into the driveway…
Fortunately, they turned around and left. But this story could have ended very differently. I was very proud of my kids- they were armed, and they had the ability to defend themselves if absolutely necessary.
Friends, I was reminded then, and I am reminded now, of why I will always be a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment. In both of these situations, having a gun meant having the ability to defend ourselves if we had to- and that can literally be the difference between life and death.
When the government disarms a population, it disarms the people that follow the rules. It does NOT disarm the people who don’t follow the rules! When you take away people’s right to defend themselves, you strip them of their freedom.
I am so thankful for the safety of my family through these events, and my thoughts and prayers are with the neighbors who were not so fortunate. I will always be armed, my family will be armed, and I will always defend the Second Amendment.
