self-defence weapon or not?

[Dr.EM]

Hand grenades. Lots of them. It's the most logical solution.

 

[P3N9U1N]

Hand grenades. Lots of them. It's the most logical solution.

Might damage the flat though, still... would be tempting

 

[Marmot]

"Geese with their exceptional eyesight and wide field of vision, combined with their strident voices, make excellent guards against approaching strangers or predators since outsiders cannot calm them into silence. This was shown in 390 BC, when Rome was attacked by Gallic troops. It was the alertness of the holy geese housed in the temple of the city's fort that allowed the defenders to wake in time to resist the attacking enemy. Today, in the high Andes, Southeast Asia and many other places, geese replace guard dogs. In Europe, they are used to guard whiskey warehouses (see Photo) and sensitive military installations (National Research Council, 1991)."

Get a Goose.

 

[KnightStalker]

One of those big maglights, it serves a purpose around the house and is pretty nasty if you so wish it to be.

 

[Reality Bites]

Exactly, but keeping a weapon specifically for this is too far. Different if you do genuinely pick up a vase and accidently kill them with it.

I agree with you, as long as killing them was reasonable? There is no real black and white definition of each circumstance. If its seen as self defence, you're fine. If you defend yourself with your 'weapon', so be it. If you defend yourself or chase your burger down the street and then do them damage, it.s not defending yourself.

 

[Lukewhitworth]

Overclockers sell security systems

 

[Glaucus]

. If you defend yourself or chase your burger down the street and then do them damage, .

I hope if I had to chase my burger down I could do its some damage , then again probably wouldn't catch it, it is meant to be fast food.

 

[D.P.]

The law goes as far as permitting you to kill such intruders if that is deemed reasonable force, e.g. if someone breaks into your house with a gun and fires shots at you then you are perfectly entitled to fire shots back and aim to kill.

So the law is very lax in letting you do whatever is necessary to protect yourself. It just doesn't allow you to go on vigilante mission and shoot harmless people in the back as they try to flee. And yes, most burglars etc are not a real threat, they don't want to actively kill you but take your valuables so you have no right to try to actively kill them unless they turn on you.

 

[P3N9U1N]

I hope if I had to chase my burger down I could do its some damage , then again probably wouldn't catch it, it is meant to be fast food.

Wow, very cheesy indeed...the burger that is

 

[Glaucus]

unless they turn on you.

not true, you can use forced if you feel threatened.

 

[EdGey]

I have various items within reaching distance of my bed that could quite easily be used as weapons.

My body is my main weapon though

 

[King Damager]

Anything with a longer reach than a knife.

I'd go for baseball bat, long sword, or something like the barbell near mine xD

kd

 

[Glaucus]

I have various items within reaching distance of my bed that could quite easily be used as weapons.

.

I think my choice, would be bed side lamp. ~2ft long, with heavy base.

 

[P3N9U1N]

Anything with a longer reach than a knife.

I'd go for baseball bat, long sword, or something like the barbell near mine xD

kd

Is that why your name is 'King Damager' by any chance.

 

[Reality Bites]

I hope if I had to chase my burger down I could do its some damage , then again probably wouldn't catch it, it is meant to be fast food.

Lolz

 

[King Damager]

Is that why your name is 'King Damager' by any chance.

Well I don't have a long sword near my bed ;p

But keeping a weight bar near mine isn't particularly unusual, it's useful for a morning workout... Other uses aside xD

kd

 

[EdGey]

I think my choic, would be bed side lamp. ~2ft long, with heavy base.

I'd go for my empty dumbbell bar I think. Small enough to swing, but heavy enough to do some damage.

Honestly though I have quite a good image of a middle aged man wielding a bedside lamp.

 

[Draeger]

PC Keyboard, those things are deadly in the right hands.

 

[LabR@t]

Anyone remember Tony Martin?

It's illegal to do anything more than ask them to put it back and please go away is the result of that from what i've heard. Extreme case maybe but a very good example of what we can REALLY do....

Anything you do to protect your property is pre-meditated and therefore opens you up to prosection if it goes wrong for them and good for you....

wrong you can use reasonable force.

 

[D.P.]

One of those big maglights, it serves a purpose around the house and is pretty nasty if you so wish it to be.

The advantage here is that a maglite is also an item which you may typically have at your bedside if there was a power cut i the night etc. I have an old headlight for this purpose but gave the large 3xD cell maglite to my girlfriend who has it in her bedside table.


I also store all my hiking and climbing gear in my bedroom so an ice axe is not far away if need be.

But I don't recommend purposely arming oneself, it will likely lead to worse issue. E.g, if you grabbed a weapon and went after the intruders you are much more likely to be attacked in the first place, and then have a difficult legal position to defend.

My girlfriend was nervous about living alone in her flat in Richmond, VA. The week before she moved in someone was shot down the street from her. there is even a bullet hole in her living room window (funny story about an FBI agent who lived in there before her tried to move some teenage chavs away from the neighborhood streets, they fired an air-rifle at the window, he called in his FBI swat team buddies...)
It is actually a safe place to live but it is a large city in the US.
She has a large maglite by her bedside table (the power does seem to get cut-off once a month or so, so this is legitimate reason). The backcountry trekking gear is under her bed, nicely organised with the bear spray in easy reach. She sleeps with her bedroom door locked and if there was an intruder I told her to remain in her locked room and shout out to warn the burglars. If they try to break down the door then she would be armed with bear spray to spray to the face (effective range about 20 feet or more) as a last resort, then the maglite to the head. But the possibility of this is so remote.


And moving to the US to buy a gun is not a possibility. You can't own a gun unless you are a US citizen. I have an H1B work visa and I certainly don't have the rights to own a gun, and I can't even shoot a gun at a shooting range in most states.