Weapons banned in the UK!

[Ben Gash]

It is not, and has never been illegal to defend yourself in your own home

[bakxierboxer]

It is not, and has never been illegal to defend yourself in your own home

So why do we keep seeing those (Brit) news articles about Brits being arrested for doing so?
Do they somehow have to "prove" that they were "within their rights"?
Or is that "just" your very own version of "journalistic license"?

[Ben Gash]

You are entitled to use reasonable force to prevent the comission of a crime, exactly the same as in the US. If the force you use is deemed to be excessive, you'll be prosecuted, as you would in the US. If you gun down an unarmed 16 year old without warning, you've got problems. If you struggle and the guy goes out a window, you're going to have to answer some questions.
Where do you "keep seeing" these stories? I can only think of a handful of examples, and only one prosecution, in the past decade.

[bakxierboxer]

You are entitled to use reasonable force to prevent the comission of a crime, exactly the same as in the US. If the force you use is deemed to be excessive, you'll be prosecuted, as you would in the US. If you gun down an unarmed 16 year old without warning, you've got problems. If you struggle and the guy goes out a window, you're going to have to answer some questions.
Where do you "keep seeing" these stories? I can only think of a handful of examples, and only one prosecution, in the past decade.

Usually with an attribution to The Sun, a "tabloid" with all that implies.
There are actually some areas in the US that (at least in theory) espouse "a duty to retreat" even within one's own home.
I didn't find it far-fetched to think that Britain would have similar laws.

[xcakid]

Usually with an attribution to The Sun, a "tabloid" with all that implies.
There are actually some areas in the US that (at least in theory) espouse "a duty to retreat" even within one's own home.
I didn't find it far-fetched to think that Britain would have similar laws.

Duty to retreat is typically found in the liberal states like CA, NJ, NJ, MA, DC, MD, HI. That's where they think bad guys are just misunderstood people that are in desperate need of a hug.

Here in the southern states, we have the castle doctorine, where if you mean us harm we will harm you back. The cops and the courts send us a thank you card for saving the tax payers money in trials and housing these duma$$e$

[Mano Mano]

I should like to point out that the headline in today's Sun was "Rose West's Guinea Pig Murdered!"

Have they looked under the pattio?

[Ben Gash]

I think it was in the drain actually

[Ben Gash]

An explanation for our American friends
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemary_West

[fopah]

Ask any non-Nazi German who survived WWII... when the government takes the citizens right/ability to defend themselves (in their case their guns), it's not only criminals you have to look out for it's the government itself. Hitler was all for gun control.

[AdrianUK]

Do you think you should have compulsory training to own a firearm ?

I mean how comfortable are you with the idea someone with no training could pull a gun and started shooting at a criminal not directly threatning them when it could be the first time they have ever fired the **** thing ? On the home defense front what level of threat before you shoot them ? Unarmed ? knife ? If the lights are off how would you know ? If the criminal suspects you have a gun would he shoot you first , just to make sure ?

Personally I don't go to bed at night worrying that because I don't have a gun I might get gang raped, I feel sorry for you if thats keeping you up at night !

[sanjuro_ronin]

I remember when I was taking my civilian firearms course, I had to even though I had been in the military, they mentioned that more people get killed by accidents with firearms than by crimes commited with firearms.

Firearms training should be mandatory, period.

[RD'S Alias - 1A]

they mentioned that more people get killed by accidents with firearms than by crimes commited with firearms.

Reply]
they are neglecting to mention all the times crimes are thwarted by a gun that is not even fired....which is a lot of them.

[sanjuro_ronin]

they mentioned that more people get killed by accidents with firearms than by crimes commited with firearms.

Reply]
they are neglecting to mention all the times crimes are thwarted by a gun that is not even fired....which is a lot of them.

What the heck does that have to do with what I posted?

[RD'S Alias - 1A]

Because what you posted makes it look like guns are more detrimental than anything because they cause more accidents...when in truth they prevent more crimes than anything, but it's not logged as such because the gun was not fired.

If you take guns form the good guys who are stopping crimes by just brandishing the weapon, but not having to fire it, then the bad guys committing crimes would go un checked and then be more numerous than the accidents.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Because what you posted makes it look like guns are more detrimental than anything because they cause more accidents...when in truth they prevent more crimes than anything, but it's not logged as such because the gun was not fired.

If you take guns form the good guys who are stopping crimes by just brandishing the weapon, but not having to fire it, then the bad guys committing crimes would go un checked and then be more numerous than the accidents.

Guns don't cause accidents or deaths, people do, re-read the post, it was about gun owners being educated on how to use them and care for them.