Diamondeye wrote:
That's silly. Of course, the initial example is silly. What the **** kind of situation ever occurs where someone is specifically trying to break your finger, and you know that is the extent of the harm he intends to inflict?
It was meant to be silly.
I don't believe self defense should ever be criminalized. I believe self defense of your personal property is legitimate too.
So let's say Shaq walks up to some 5 ft tall grandma and says "Give me your hand, I'm going to break your finger." Then the grandma responds with, "No. I have a gun and I will defend myself." If Shaq grabs for her hand, I believe she is completely justified in shooting his ***.
If instead Shaq had said "Give me your purse," I don't think that changes anything. She's still justified in shooting him.
If you want to draw some distinction between robbery and mugging someone, say Shaq walks into her apartment while she's watching TV and says "Excuse me, I'm going to be taking this laptop you have sitting out on the table over here." Again she says something like, "No. I have a gun and I will defend my property." If he still goes for the laptop, I'm fine with her shooting him.
If you're not okay with people using deadly force to defend their property against theft, you're basically saying that if someone comes into your house and wants to steal all your stuff right in front of you, you just have to sit there and take it. Yes, some people are fortunate enough to have the means to defend their property with non-lethal force, but there are many who cannot.