While this is only tangentially related to Americanism in the English language, I’ve also realized the hard way that good advice given in the States is not always the best advice for someone on your side of the Ocean of America.
Last year there was a user that appeared to be worried about a potential stalker, so I noted that a measure she could take to protect herself is to keep pepper spray on her person when out and about. Apparently not only is that illegal in the UK, it also seems to be considered horribly immoral and disgusting as well lol. Here it’s so ordinary that nearly every woman has a small one-use canister of mace on their keychain.
The basic tenet of the law in the UK is that something carried for the purpose of defence is also an offensive weapon, because it could be used as such.
A person could be carrying a shotgun, be attacked and kill the attacker, this would be entirely legal if the person being attacked could reasonably attest to have been in fear of his life - defensive actions have to be proportional to the level of threat. However, the action could have serious legal consequences if the person with the shotgun was carrying it for protection. If he had been carrying it to shoot rabbits or crows etc. that would not be the case.
There is no grey area concerning objects whose sole purpose is defence from attack, like pepper spray.
The basic tenet of the law in the UK is that something carried for the purpose of defence is also an offensive weapon, because it could be used as such.
A person could be carrying a shotgun, be attacked and kill the attacker, this would be entirely legal if the person being attacked could reasonably attest to have been in fear of his life - defensive actions have to be proportional to the level of threat. However, the action could have serious legal consequences if the person with the shotgun was carrying it for protection. If he had been carrying it to shoot rabbits or crows etc. that would not be the case.
There is no grey area concerning objects whose sole purpose is defence from attack, like pepper spray.
I mean in the UK if people are worri d about attackers they're advices to have safety procudurres in the way and of course eyou can learn self defence (yellow belt ninjitsu here) although martial arts take a lifetime to master
There is no grey area concerning objects whose sole purpose is defence from attack, like pepper spray.
I'm confused. Pepper spray is illegal to carry in the UK because, although touted as a defensive weapon, it can blind people.
I'm struggling to think of anything that is purely defensive without the capability of harm. Even a personal alarm has the potential to harm someone's hearing.
