Worthless Protective Orders

Are the words "worthless protective orders" redundant?

A woman in Canal Winchester, Ohio, who had taken out a protective order on Jan. 15, was brutally murdered by her estranged husband yesterday. He then killed himself. His criminal actions left two teenage boys without parents. The news story indicates she had told friends she feared a murder-suicide situation.

Mrs. Znamenacek was a nice, likable woman, her attorney noted. "She was totally nonviolent and then this idiot takes her out," he said.

Nonviolence is okay, until it gets you killed. But the fault is not with this mother of two. I grieve for her, her family, and her two boys. The fault is with a society bent on convincing people that a piece of paper will protect you, when the reality is we often have no choice, or other option, but to protect ourselves.