Burglar takes his victim to court

The Telegraph ^ | : 17/08/2002 | David Sapsted

[bernie_g]

Sure, no argument there. The US Constitution is definitely a huge improvement in principle over what we have here, and very often in practice too. I very much admire it and wish the UK had adopted some key ideas from it.

[bernie_g]

I think you're right on the money with that last point.

There are some reasonable historical arguments against having militias running around with weapons able to take on the government. I'd say that's a separate issue unless you're the USA and already have a Constitution with that notion built into it. We don't so that's academic for us.

Disarming regular citizens is different though.

Particularly due to psycho drunks and the increasing number of chaotic drug addicts around, citizens are subjected to something like an 'asymmetric threat' now. I.e. the state can't be in enough places at once for the citizens to depend entirely upon it for their own defence. The state mostly finds this very hard to accept, as states tend to do.

[Shooter 2.5]

If Britain choses to make the mistake that they want to ban weapons, no one is going to stop them.
If they're really interested in stopping crime, they would give an amnesty to any law abider who stopped crime regardless of the weapon.
Let's say that all shotguns were illegal but a homeowner stopped a house invasion with a shotgun. Wouldn't common sense say to the authorities that even thought the shotgun was illegal, the fact that there was a home invasion nullify the law in that case and the homeowner would receive a medal, pat on the back and a hearty well done? This isn't directed at you. It's just a question that Parliment should ask themselves.

[bernie_g]

Well, shotguns are legal here, albeit with a bit of paperwork and some effort to prove you aren't a danger.

You are legally able to use one to defend yourself, under certain, not un-reasonable circumstances. Tony Martin was convicted for shooting his mouth, rather than his gun. He'd been boasting in the village about intending to kill himself some burglars. I have little sympathy for anyone that dumb.

I doubt a court in the UK would accept your argument if shotguns were *illegal* though. The monopoly on force is jealously guarded in most of Europe, not least because we've seen what happens when rich people can hire private armies.

You pretty much have to show that you were *not* prepared to fight back, or at least make a convincing pretence that the WW2 vintage khukuri you've just decapitated him with was a genuine family relic and just *happened* to near the door.

Which I personally think is just plain crazy.