Weapons in the home and laws

[Clairelouise84]

What are your local laws regarding weapons in the home used for self defence? I don't mean uns, I mean things like bats and knives etc. What are the laws, in the UK keeping something as simple as a bat can be an arrestable offence, unless you have the proper equipment that might go with the bat or any other chosen weapon, what is the law in your area?

 

[DancingLady]

Infiniti know of any laws here that would restrict you from owning a bat. Baseball is pretty big in my town, the HS field is right across from me. As far as I understand, in the event of a home invasion, you have the right to use anything you have to defend yourself and your family, be that sports equipment, kitchen items, fireplace tools.

 

[Philosophydaddy]

Wow, keeping a baseball bat is an arrest-able offence??? What are you supposed to do if there is someone in your home that shouldn't be? You don't know what they want or what they might try to do. If they try and kill you for whatever reason, calling the police isn't going to stop them. Self-defense is the only option and if you can't even have a bat beside your bed, how are you supposed to even the odds against an intruder who has who-knows-what for a weapon themselves? That is one thing about the UK I just don't understand, personally.

 

[katherine25]

I agree, I know if someone were to break into my house id do whatever I had to, to protect my children. However, the laws state that even if there is an intruder and he is injured in some way in my house whether on his own or by me I can be charged. If a trespasser were to trip and fall in my house I can be charged, if I assault him in any way with or without a weapon I can be charged. I seriously think these laws need to be looked at and changed because like you said Philosophydaddy, you don't know what these people are capable of by calling the police wont stop them from hurting you or your family.

 

[Gabe]

Owning a bat is not an arrestable offense in the UK, like anywhere else it is how the bat is used. Many people have bats, walking sticks, umbrellas and such items, but if they are used as a weapon against someone unarmed, then they could be arrested.

Nearly anything in the home used in this manner can be classed as a weapon, imagine a high heeled shoes used to stab someone or a coat hanger. It's not the item, but how it's used.

 

[JoanMcWench]

America varies state by state but overall you are well within your rights to defend your home & yourself. So, if you have a license (in certain states) & your gun is registered (in certain states) & you use it when someone illegally enters your home it's within your rights to do so.

 

[lushlala]

The law in the UK can be an a***, because you're meant to use "reasonable force" to defend yourself against burglars and the like. I am not sure what exactly qualifies as "reasonable force", and most people struggle to understand what it means too. I remember the case of the old farmer, Tony Martin who was always the target of these break ins. Naturally, he eventually snapped and shot one dead and I think maimed the other. Never mind that one was known to the police and they were trespassing with the full intention of committing a crime(s), Mr Martin was thrown in jail and did a 3 year term!! That I thought was seriously skewed, and the law seriously flawed.

Here's a link:

Farmer Tony Martin who was jailed for shooting a teenage burglar confronts thieves for the second time | Daily Mail Online

 

[Gabe]

Overall, it's wrong that a person should be imprisoned for defending themselves in their own home, but reasonable force is defined as a genuine threat in response to an attack. Basically if the suspect is unarmed then you can only injure them to prevent them escaping rather than shoot to kill, it's a legal definition more than anything. The problem is that in a split second you cannot always be rational so unless you have booby trapped the house (that's also a gray area) it depends on the threat.

If someone strikes you or makes the first move, then you should use reasonable force, but if you catch a suspect and make the first move then that again is a gray area.