Would you shoot a burglar

[computedshorty]

Would you shoot a burglar?

The law in now on the side of the victim of a burglary .

If you caught one or more robbing your possessions, would you challenge and shoot them?

A burglar is giving justification by being in your home and in the process of removing your possessions that you have bought with the money you earned during your life time.

Having been taught during my army service to shoot the enemy on sight, not knowing that person or having any other good reason to shoot him you would do it.

My reaction? I have no about it.

[steveo]

Aren't you supposed to say, 'Who goes there?'

[KidKruger]

I don't have a gun.

But I would use sufficient force to ensure that my family and possessions remain safe, without wasting time about the consequences for the intruder.

I think this is the main difference in the law now, it's not about 'reasonable' which was a victim-centric posture, it's now about whatever you feel at the time is necessary to remove the danger (I think).

[jumpinjackflash]

If I owned a gun (legally) then yes. I would shoot them in the foot/leg then call police.

[El Pibe]

Does this include robbing daffodils from the park? Perhaps automated turrets?

[Jeremy]

We're not farmers, we don't have shotguns in our homes. And pistols are illegal.

Surely a more realistic question would be whether you'd be willing to whack someone over the head with a blunt object (cricket bat, hammer, table leg, etc).

[El Pibe]

I find a nice cup of tea can solve any situation.

[Brendan]

Swinging a cricket bat around indoors will probably only result in you breaking whatever it is they are trying to steal.

[LondonLogCo]

No, not a gun

(way too common these days)

I would find my 32" whirring Stihl chainsaw generally "more useful"

I'd give an intruder little chance of leaving "in one piece" after a tussle with 110cc of full throttle saw

Guns ?

"Pah...."

*Woody

[computedshorty]

They dont like it up em!

[DaveR]

[Ted Max]

I would shoot a burglar, non-fatally, tie him to the kitchen table and then engage upon a long night of dialogue during which it slowly becomes apparent that all is not as it seems. Traditional roles of invader and invaded, colonial and colonised, would be re-assessed, and there would be a surprising ending.

You will be able to hear the results in a 30 minute play on Radio 4 Extra at 09:45 and 17:40 on a Tuesday in November. In a decision in no way affected by available budget, both parts will be played by the same actor.

[KidKruger]

When I lived in Boston my girlfriend from Vermont (the parents owned a mountain, with large property on it) related the story that her Father had told her to walk an intruder at gunpoint (if apprehended successfully) to a doorway, get him to turn around at distance, then shoot him in the face.

The idea being that he'd likely die and they'd be less liable to law suits, especially since they could argue he was coming towads them at the time the trigger was fired.

[Mick Mac]

Jeremy Wrote:

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> We're not farmers, we don't have shotguns in our

> homes. And pistols are illegal.

>

> Surely a more realistic question would be whether

> you'd be willing to whack someone over the head

> with a blunt object (cricket bat, hammer, table

> leg, etc).

Table leg ? Where would you find one of those?

[Jeremy]

That is a good question.

Perhaps you have an Ikea table lying around, waiting to be assembled.

Or perhaps your intruder would be kind enough to wait while you found your tools and removed a leg?

[Salsaboy]

Shoot the bastards. Twice, to make sure.

[maxxi]

You're being a bit nit-picky Mick; I'm sure that a chair leg, armoire door (handle proud), or the retaining bracket of a (stolen) Corby trouser press would serve.

I would favour the front leg of a velvet chaise longue (turned beech with a stained finish) for maximum thuddage combined with a compactness that allows for optimum swing.

[KidKruger]

If you don't play cricket and you're rubbish at DIY, you're buggered then !

[Mick Mac]

El Pibe Wrote:

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> I find a nice cup of tea can solve any situation.

A nice cup of tea and the Guardian magazine. You can read it to him, he most likely can't read. And if he did, he wouldn't choose the Guardian.

[Jeremy]

If in corridor : leg of chaise longue

If in large room (e.g. opened-up thru-lounge or kitchen with side return extension) : leg of table

[Mick Mac]

You are getting carried away now Jeremy - I was only pulling your leg.

[Jeremy]

I think it's only fair that we understand what options are on the table.

[Mick Mac]

Mick Mac Wrote:

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> You are getting carried away now Jeremy - I was

> only pulling your leg.

For clarification - so I could hit someone over the head with it. :)

[El Pibe]

I resent the allegation mick, like I'd have that muck in my house.

I was going to suggest going over the finer points of some Dostoevsky

[woodrot]

You say table leg, I say Harry Stanley

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Stanley