Self Defense 

I just finished reading a post on Samizdata asking What is Reasonable Force? Thanks to Th'inkwell for the link. I recommend heading over there and reading it. The author's of the post are from across the pond (British), and so it has a totally different perspective. I also took the time to read the comments (which are numerous). What I found in the end is that Britain scares me. Why you ask? Here are the tidbits I picked up from the post:

1. The general feeling in the U.K. is that you should never try to defend yourself from assault. Rather you should curl up in a ball, or lock yourself in a room until the police arrive. If it so happens that the police take 15 minutes or more to arrive, we'll be sure to try and catch him later. Hopefully you won't be dead when they get there.
   
2. The carrying of any item with the intent to use it as a weapon, even in self defense is illegal. This would include a kitchen knife, or a baseball bat. Remember the Bourne Identity... that scene where Bourne stabs the gunman with a pen? Yep - that pen was illegal.
   
3. The sale and possesion of pepper spray in the U.K. is illegal. Apparently thieves and rapists thought it hurt too much.
   

Many of the commenters are American, and understandably were shocked by these attitudes. We in the U.S. have a pretty strong tradition of self-defense. In fact, some brought up the Colorado "Make My Day" law. One of the more telling comments was when someone said "Burglary is not a Capital Crime". While true in the court of law, is it true when that burglar is in your home? The problem when talking about this is that people tend to get ahead of themselves. They look at the situation with all the "facts" afterwards, instead of looking at the "facts" known at the time. I'll invent a hypothetical situation to illustrate my point.

A man, who lost his job some time ago, is desperate for money to try to support his wife and child. His home has just been foreclosed, his car is being repossessed, and he is desperate. He grabs a plastic gun that his child has in his room, and decides he has no choice. He is going to break into a home, steal something, anything of value for money. One very late night, he breaks into a home carrying the plastic gun (thinking he could scare anyone who might wake up). While crouched next to the cupboard in the dining room finding a box of silverware, the lights suddenly come on. Surprised by being discovered, he stands up and turns around intending to run away, plastic gun still in his hand. The man is shot twice in the chest by the homeowner. The burglar's family is outraged. He was a desperate father! No matter how misguided, he was only trying to provide for his family in desperate times! It was only a plastic gun for God's sake!

It's late at night. A man is sleeping next to his wife, his twin girls asleep peacefully down the hall. He is jolted asleep by his wife who says, "I think I heard something downstairs." Still groggy all he can say is "What?" "It sounded like breaking glass" she responds. The man gets out of bed and goes to the closet, pulling his gun down from the top shelf and removing the trigger lock. While his wife calls 911, he slowly walks downstairs to investigate. He sees a dark figure stooped in the dining room. He aims his gun at the figure and turns on the lights. Before he can say anything, the figure stands up. The home owner, seeing what looks like a gun in the intruder's hand, fires twice - striking him in the chest killing the man.

Same story, two different perspectives. But Nick, it was a plastic gun. The home owner didn't know that. It looked pretty real to him. But Nick, he could have been about to run away. True, but he could also have been looking to rush the home owner, or get in a shooting stance. But Nick, he could have... What? The home owner chould have given the intruder a chance to shoot at him first before firing? I suppose that would have answered the question about how real the gun was. But if it was real... and that first shot hit the mark, the home owner is dead. And what of his family? So here is the real question. Do I (as the home owner) have an obligation to allow an attempt on my life before I can defend myself? Or do I have the right to take action given the threat an attempt might occur? What if the intruder never intended to fire? Scared, he probably would have run away. All very true. The problem is that we can judge that only in hindsight. If there is the chance that I might be killed - I'm not giving up the advantage. I don't believe in fair fights. I'll kick another guy in the balls first before I hit him in the face. When I throw a punch, you better believe that my elbow will swing around too.

I say that if you don't want to get shot - don't break into someone's house.