This post at James Morton’s blog has me both happy and terribly confused. It seems to say that if a person is attacked in their home they are under no obligation to retreat. That means they can defend themselves in their home but still must retreat before attack outside the home. That aside, what constitutes and assault in your house and what is allowed as defence?
If a burglar breaks into my home, is that an assault on me? I would guess probably not. What if the burglar announces “I’m non-violent, I’m just stealing your TV!” do I have to let him? If not, then what can I do to stop him? I am under the impression that I am allowed to use reasonable force to protect my property and that “reasonable force” means an escalation of force as necessary, but that it is not reasonable to use deadly force to defend property. So, must I start out with a verbal warning, then bare hands, then a baseball bat? If I attempt to stop the thief from stealing my stuff and he resists is that an assault on me? The problem with that is the thief is unlikely to use reasonable force himself; he would more likely use his most violent weapon immediately in order to win. I honestly believe that, so does that mean I reasonably believe my life is in danger and do I now have an obligation to retreat rather than stop a theft in my own home? Or can I still try to stop him from stealing my TV? If you think these are hypotheticals, read this.
And let’s talk about reasonable force. How can a citizen of Canada apply reasonable force when it would appear that the possession of any weapon intended for self-defence is illegal. If I carry a baseball bat in my car expressly for self-defense I am committing a crime. If I carry a baseball bat, glove and ball in my car and just happen to use the bat for self-defence it is perfectly legal. I cannot have pepper spray to protect me from humans but as long as I say it is for defense against dogs I am fine. As for guns, I am barred from owning a gun for self-defence but if I have one for hunting or target shooting I can then use it for self-defence just so long as that wasn’t its intended use. It’s crazy!
So the court of appeal in Ontario says I can defend myself from assault in my house without the obligation to retreat. It still bars most citizens from the means of that defense. It’s a good first step but I hope the Conservative government does come through with a revamp and clarification of self-defence, something more supportive of victims than burlglars.
