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British gov't opposes liberalizing home defense

The London Telegraph reports that a Conservative MP is pushing a bill to broaden self-defense in the home, and the Home Secretary has come out in opposition.

The bill would change the standard of "reasonable force" into "all but grossly disproportionate force." As commentators such as Joyce Malcolm have pointed out "reasonable force" is construed by British courts as allowing almost no self defense. (She pointed one piece of government advice, to the effect that if you run into a burglar in the dark and bonk him with a crowbar, you will be put on trial but probably win. But if you hit him a second time, you are almost certain to be convicted. Note that even the first blow is predicated to result in a criminal charge. Where I live, the prosecution wouldn't waste time asking for a grand jury's opinion. If you killed the guy, they might bother the grand jury, just enough to get a "no true bill" so that they could say they asked for a second opinion, so to speak.

Hat tip to Dan Gifford...

· non-US