Now let me begin with saying that I fully believe this shooting was justified -- and that I wish Borris Miles had managed to ventilate both perps, not just one. However, the hypocrisy here is rather striking.

Borris Miles told police he was fixing a leak on the second floor of the Houston house he's building Sunday night when he heard a noise downstairs and saw two men trying to steal the copper. After Miles confronted the pair, one of the men threw a pocketknife at him, Houston Police spokesman Victor Senties.

Miles, a former law enforcement officer, shot the man in the left leg, police said. The wounded suspect was being treated at a Houston hospital. Police were trying to identify the other suspect.

Charges of aggravated robbery are pending against the wounded suspect, Senties said.

The hypocrisy, of course, stems from the fact that Miles is a Democrat in the Texas Legislature who voted against allowing Texans to do exactly what he did -- shoot without making every possible effort to retreat from criminals.