Another conflict here....the difference in the law of the two lands...in the UK...the victim has no right to use violence against an intruder whereas in the USA...we have the right to defend our home against intruders. Fundamental difference.
Vigilantism means I take off around the countryside dispensing justice....killing a burglar inside my home is anything but that.
justifiable homicide
: homicide that is committed in self-defense, in defense of another and esp. a member of one's family or sometimes in defense of a residence, in preventing a felony esp. involving great bodily harm, or in performing a legal duty and that is justified under the law with no criminal punishment imposed
Here in the State of North Carolina...we take the position that police officers must give ground....but citizens do not. We retain the right to defend our family, home, and property. The law is very specific about when "self defense" protects a citizen in a homicide. I can assure you, even if tried in court, juries will always side with the victim.....not the burglar, rapist, robber, or murderer. We are not talking about bar fights between drunks here....but home invasions, burglaries, asaults by armed criminals intent upon doing harm to innocent people.
Jacko....I always like to use the analogy....if I meet you on the street....and start slapping you in the face....with vigor and strength....how many times will I have to slap you before you raise your hands in defense....will you ever use violence to protect yourself? This is the situation victims of crime find themselves in....thugs like unarmed, submissive victims. They find people who have both the will to fight back and the weapons to go along .....to be very risky targets and thus they leave us alone and go for the easy marks, the people that will meekly give up their purse or their life without threat to the criminal.
Jacko....
Had to make this one a seperate one....
"Civilized society"...."leave it to the government to deal with criminals"....I hope you are a victim of a home invasion robbery...your wife gets killed...your daughter raped....you get stabbed several times.....watch your house burn down as the gang drives off in your car.......then ....then....I want you to tell us you really feel the cops and courts are your protectors.
That is happening to real people in my country and yours every day......I assure you Jacko...the Coppers will be sipping a cup of tea or dunking their donuts in the coffee while all that is happening to you. They cannot be everywhere at once....the courts fail to incarcerate violent offenders often enough or long enough. The failure of your "civilized society" is measured in the pain and suffering of the victims of crime.
In my neck of the woods, we define neo-conservative as being a recently mugged liberal.
Jacko, please don't play word games here....you describe killing a violent criminal in self defense as being murder. That just isn't the case nor the law. The law calls it Justifiable Homicide which is not a crime of any kind.
Gun Control is also defined as being proper sight alignment and trigger squeeze to achieve maximum accrucacy.