Around 10 pm last night a Massachusetts liquor store clerk found himself staring down the dark menacing pipe of a loaded revolver. The message was clear: Give me your money or die. Fortunately for the clerk he was licensed and trained for just such an occasion. The clerk brandished his own firearm and quickly mustered the intestinal fortitude to shoot the robber dead. Good on him. I commend this man for not only standing up for himself but also for his place of employment.

Consider the alternative. If the clerk had only wounded the robber it would have left the door wide open for a slew of ridiculously frivolous lawsuits. It happens all the time. Criminal attacks citizen. Citizen defends himself. Criminal gets hurt. Criminal sues citizen. Judge entertains this nonsense. Law-abiding citizen is ordered to pay medical bills, court fees, and pain and suffering compensation to the criminal who attacked him. Criminal laughs all the way to the bank. Bollocks.

More importantly is alternative number two. If the clerk had not acted at all and just handed over the cash, it would have emboldened the robber even further. A successful robbery can do wonders to encourage a blossoming criminal career. How many more stores would this man have robbed? How many innocent people would he have hurt? Just look at the pirate situation off the coast of Somalia. The companies of nearly all the vessels seized have negotiated with the pirates, paying out over $100 million in ransom this year alone. Needless to say, pirate attacks are on the rise. As word spreads of maritime booty ripe for the picking the dregs of Somalia are boating and gunning their way to high seas opportunity. Fortunately for Massachusetts, there's one less Pirate to worry about.