I've written about how in Britain there is no right to self defense and they will put you on trial if you try to defend yourself or your property (see here and here). Apparently that is also true in at least one U.S. state and wouldn't you know, it's one of the bluest states: Massachusetts (you know, where Romney was governor). Michael Graham writing for the Boston Herald reports:
[Anthony] McKay is the young father who, seeing a local druggie breaking into his truck and stealing the tools he uses to pay the bills, confronted him, subdued him and held him for the police. When the police arrived, they found the bad guy had a knife, a billy club and — thanks to the unarmed McKay — a broken jaw.
Instead of thanking McKay for helping get an armed criminal off the streets, Swampscott officials charged him with a felony. As a Swampscott police spokesman said at the time, “We don’t urge anybody to fight back. We want them to call us.”
Thanks to media pressure, the charges were later dropped. But according to Graham, McKay was lucky because not everyone becomes a media darling and has their charges eliminated. So what are you allowed to do in the Bay State to protect yourself and your property?
[Lawyer] Wendy Murphy told me, “The standard in Massachusetts is you cannot defend yourself unless you’re going to die.”
And another lawyer:
Joe Flaherty told me, “You have the right to confront them and stop them . . . but you don’t have the right to use force.” When I asked what I could do under Massachusetts law, he said, “You could scream and yell at them.”
"What are we supposed to use, harsh language?" as someone once asked.
Massachusetts also has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. So they take away your rights and your ability to defend yourself and your property. This is stupid and give criminals more rights than citizens.
Luckily this is just one bad state. Most of the U.S. has much saner laws. But if you live in Taxachusettes, you might want to invest in good insurance because apparently you are only allowed to call the police and watch the crooks steal your property.
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