Australians Are Trying to Take Back Self-Defense

Or self-defence, as they spell it. I wish them luck, but the state will not want to relinquish the power that it has taken. ‘Everybody’s fed up’: Two home invasions, two intruders dead and the moral dilemma facing Victorians

The story covers a recent decision not to prosecute, and a similar case from 2015. Click thru for those details.

The problem for Victorians caught up in a youth crime crisis that has seen home invasions skyrocket to record levels in the past few years is that they don’t know whether the law supports them protecting their homes.

Under Victorian law, homeowners are allowed to defend themselves during a home invasion. But the amount of force they use must be proportionate and reasonable to the threat they face.

Which might sound good in theory, but how is a woman homeowner (the case from 2015) supposed to defend herself from a large man trying to choke her? Spoiler, she didn't defend herself, because firearms would be "disproportional," so her neighbor had to come to her aid. He was charged with murder.

In reality it means that the Monday-morning quarterbacks get to second guess the decisions you made at 3AM Saturday, when someone kicked in the door to your home. The state doesn't like self-defense, because it doesn't respect state authority.

Victoria, Australia, is a state in the southeastern portion of the mainland. It is home to Melbourne.

There is more, on the state of crime in Victoria, Australia, and some on the push to reform the laws around self-defense. Click thru.