Article

2011-10-28 Britain

Law changed to allow violence in defending against intruders

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Posted by trailing wife 2011-10-28 00:00|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [11125 views ] Top

#1 as long as you used reasonable force

What some high minister safe in his guarded office and the person under threat consider reasonable force may not jibe.

Posted by Eohippus Phater7165 2011-10-28 06:52|| 2011-10-28 06:52|| Front Page Top

#2 At least it's up to the jury now.

I wonder how the marxist captured ACPO will respond to this?

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2011-10-28 07:24|| 2011-10-28 07:24|| Front Page Top

#3 Seems like quite the change for England, and not a bad one. Does King John know about this?

Posted by SteveS 2011-10-28 07:54|| 2011-10-28 07:54|| Front Page Top

#4 @Eohippus: "Reasonable force" is an element of self-defense law here in the U.S., too. Isn't normally an issue.

Posted by Mike 2011-10-28 08:27|| 2011-10-28 08:27|| Front Page Top

#5 With draconian British laws against gun ownership, what exactly are you supposed to protect yourself with? If you have a knife and the crook has a gun - retreat would seem the prudent course. Britain really needs the equivalent of the second amendment.

Posted by CincinnatusChili 2011-10-28 08:32|| 2011-10-28 08:32|| Front Page Top

#6 Finally, this is good news for UK, but I still feel sick to my stomach that the law was made in the first place.

Posted by Creregum Glolump8403 2011-10-28 09:26|| 2011-10-28 09:26|| Front Page Top

Posted by Creregum Glolump8403 2011-10-28 09:27|| 2011-10-28 09:27|| Front Page Top

"Reasonable force" is an element of self-defense law here in the U.S., too. Isn't normally an issue.

Because USUALLY it's assumed that someone in your home without your permission intends to commit a violent crime against you.

Posted by Rob Crawford 2011-10-28 09:36|| 2011-10-28 09:36|| Front Page Top

#9 Reasonable force is a fine standard for out in the streets but if the intruder came onto your property the standard should be until you feel safe. If that requires reloading, so be it.

Posted by rjschwarz 2011-10-28 09:55|| 2011-10-28 09:55|| Front Page Top

#10 I take it 'reasonable force' means 'as long as the { robber | rapist | murderer | kidnapper | etc... } doesn't have the feelings hurt in any way.

Posted by CrazyFool 2011-10-28 11:12|| 2011-10-28 11:12|| Front Page Top

#11 At any rate, it's an improvement over the old Labour-era standard. See, there's at least a button's worth of difference between the parties in Britain!

Posted by Mitch H. 2011-10-28 11:19|| http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/ 2011-10-28 11:19|| Front Page Top

#12 Many years ago, homeowner self defense against burglars and robbers was actually an issue in Arizona. And so, when a new district attorney was elected in Maricopa County, the local media asked him what somebody should do if a burglar or robber broke into their home.

"You shoot the S.O.B.", he replied, in an unabbreviated fashion. That just ended the local debate right there.

It's pretty much been a satisfactory solution for these many years.

Posted by Anonymoose 2011-10-28 11:28|| 2011-10-28 11:28|| Front Page Top

#13 ..cause the DA understood that outside of blue areas of the United States, getting a jury to convict is usually a waste of limited resources. Consider it one of the key 'Bill of Rights' protections that the founding fathers made sure was in the Constitution. See 6th Amendment.

Posted by Procopius2k 2011-10-28 12:17|| 2011-10-28 12:17|| Front Page Top

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