The Absurdity of the Canadian Criminal Code

I must apologize for the following content. I know that Spazoid's Space is supposed to be a humour blog, but there is something I must get off my chest.

How would you answer the following statement?

If someone breaks into your home, and you do what it takes to protect your family and yourself, does that make you a criminal?

I answer NO.

The American government answers NO.

The Canadian government answers:

YES.

In Canada, if someone breaks into your home and you take preventative action to ensure the safety of your loved ones, before the CRIMINAL who illegally and forcibly entered your home has the opportunity to cause harm, you are a criminal and you go to jail. For a very long time.

The Canadian Criminal code is exceptionally lenient towards violent offenders, especially first time violent offenders, in the hopes that they can be rehabilitated quickly. Canadian law states that you cannot take action above what an attacker is taking to subdue him. If someone pushes you down on the street, you cannot do more than push him back. If he punches you, you can only punch him back - once. If he stabs you in the gut, you can take higher action to protect yourself - only if he's already stabbed you, if you aren't laying in the ditch bleeding, that is. Even then, if you manage to hurt him to stop his attack on yourself and possibly others, after you are done your hospital stay (should you survive) you will be sitting in the defendants chair in a Canadian courtroom.

This applies to any situation, including in your own home.

This means that in the past, people have been doing nothing more than trying to protect themselves have gone to prison as criminals. Doesn't that make you sick? I know it really angers me.

I especially have a problem with this as it applies to the breaking and entering of your home.

I recognize that most people who do this are only looking to steal things to make money. They target homes when they know people aren't home. They don't carry weapons, and usually a simple HEY! will send them packing.

That's not the situation every time.

If you catch someone breaking into your home, you have to assume his intent is hostile. Why else would he forcibly enter your home? You don't know if he has a weapon, what his intent is, if he'll do anything to get your stuff to sell for his next crack fix, if he's thinking clearly or not.

How long do you have to decide how to act if someone breaks into your home?

The answer is just a split second.

You can't ascertain if he wants to steal something, if he wants to rape your wife or daughter, if he's high on something and thinks he's Harry Potter come to save the world by killing the evil wizard, YOU, in his mind. You just don't know. You do know that his intent is NOT good. When someone forces their way into your home, their intent is CRIMINAL right off the hop.

About a decade ago in my county, a drunk man entered someones home in the middle of the night carrying a knife. He wandered around, found their teen aged daughters bedroom, stabbed her in the stomach, and left.

Had the house owner found this man before he got to the daughters bedroom, knife in hand, and shot him or beat him to submission with a baseball bat, according to Canadian law the house owner would be serving a decade or two for manslaughter. The criminal would be walking the streets in months.

We need to treat criminals as criminals and victims as victims. If you need to take action to ensure your families safety in a home invasion that results in the injury or death of the person breaking in, YOU are STILL the VICTIM and he is STILL the CRIMINAL.

We MUST allow taxpaying and law abiding citizens to reasonably protect themselves from criminals. We MUST change the law. We must recognize intent and appropriate action, and we must understand the circumstances involving a break in.

Please do not misunderstand me. I'm not lobbying for a gun in every house hold, or the right to kill someone unchecked should they enter your property without permission. I'm asking that we do not make victims criminals, and allow house owners reasonable opportunity to protect themselves and their families without the concern of spending time in jail. I'm asking for Canadians to be able to act properly without freezing in confusion, in worry that their protective actions will make them a criminal.

It's time for us law abiding Canadian taxpayers to take action. We must be able to not worry about protecting our loved ones, and the consequences from the government for doing so. Can you imagine a family with a dead child, and a husband in jail for life, while the real criminal walks the streets?

What kind of justice is that?

I call on all concerned Canadians to tackle our overly liberal and lax attitude towards protecting the wrong and punishing the victims. I call for everyone who is concerned to write letters to their MP's. Bombard them. Make them see that we will not be made victims of any more. Show them that we are proud of what we worked for an will not allow criminals and our own government to push us in the mud.

For the sake of our loved ones, we need to be able to protect them without fear of unjust reprisal from the government!

Thank you to all who would listen. If you are Canadian and concerned, please forward this short article to all you think would benefit from it.