Common Gun Death in U.S. Sets Off Debate...in Germany

Great new piece at NYT about what happened after an armed homeowner in Montana took out his shotgun and blasted away into his garage in the dark at an intruder--and killed an exchange student from Germany.  This naturally set off a debate about guns and violence and the differences between America and most of the rest of the world.

German consular officials have called for justice. In an interview with a German news agency, Mr. Dede’s father criticized an American cowboy culture for contributing to his son’s death. In Mr. Dede’s hometown, Hamburg, hundreds of his stunned relatives, friends and soccer teammates attended memorials, holding photos of Mr. Dede and unfurling a banner that read, “Our brother is dying while America is looking on.”

In Montana, which has one of the country’s highest rates of gun ownership, the killing has renewed criticism of the state’s “castle doctrine” laws, which allow residents wider latitude to use force to defend their homes.