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Using a sword as a self defense weapon

November 24, 2009


Using a sword as a self defense weapon to a burglar in your house?

Is that illegal?

My brother has a sword as a decorative item. And he’s wondering if he could use that sword as self defense if a burglar tries to rob his house?

Answers in Comments below..

Written by SelfDefenseWatcher · Filed Under Self Defense Q and A 

Comments

16 Responses to “Using a sword as a self defense weapon”

  1. burtlikko on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    In theory, he could do that if the circumstances present a credible threat to the life or safety of your brother or someone else legitimately in the house. Use of deadly force to protect property alone is typically not authorized.

    What that means in practical terms is if the burglar is trying to enter his daughter’s bedroom, then, en garde! If the burglar is using both hands to try and haul out the TV, then he’s not much of a threat to anyone and deadly force is not authorized.

    But a decorative sword? Yes, a very sharp sword is a pretty good way to kill somebody and back in the day, it was a state-of-the-art tool for self-defense. But a decorative sword these days is likely not going to be kept sharp enough to be a good weapon other than as sort of a thin club. It is also likely to be displayed on a wall-mount or in a display case which will make it inconvenient to accdess. May I recommend a (properly-licensed) handgun instead? I prefer the 9mm variety for balancing lightness and ease of use against stopping power, but to each their own.

  2. The Mysterious Way on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    Maybe it is illegal, but you can be damn sure that the burglar invading your property doesn’t give two craps about the legalities of the issue.

    En Garde, i say!

  3. hopelesssouls on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    as long as he doesnt have the sword illegaly hed be fine

  4. Ed on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    I am guessing you are in England, where self defence is seen as a murky area of law (especially after Tony Martin was imprisoned for shooting a burglar, though he was eventually released.)

    It needn’t be murky. The law says you may defend yourself. You may not deliberately go beyond defending yourself. So, if the burglar is incapacitated when you wield the sword, that should be where you draw the line. If you keep going with the intent to kill him, that is murder. But, bizarrely, the death of the burglar does not necessarily amount to a crime, provided the death was merely an unfortunate consequence of your self defence.

  5. Jason O on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    You could be he could not claim it as self defense because self defense is defined as using the same amount of force to save yourself so in other words if he has a gun you can use a gun, he has a knife you can us a knife. But in a burglary it is not really considered self defense

  6. SAS on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    He s going down for murder, best of luck!!

  7. Ms. X on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    In most U.S. states, a sword is considered a deadly weapon. It’s only legal to use it to defend yourself if your life is in imminent danger.

  8. ravanzini on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    That really depends on where you live. Take Texas for example. In Texas, you may shoot, hurt, maim, kill, do whatever to someone if they are even on your property…not even inside the house, just on the property.

    Now, in New Jersey, you cannot harm an invader to your home, you must flee the premises.

    That’s why I live in Texas. It all depends on what state you live in, and your local laws.

  9. jakflak on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    Deadly force is deadly force. In my state it would be perfectly legal.

  10. MICHAEL P on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    In the UK, the important consideration is ‘reasonable force’. Swinging a sabre around and cutting off the guys hand is hardly reasonable. In fact any injury caused by the sword would be considered an offence …. even brandishing the sword could be considered excessive, even in the act of self-defence because essentially a sword is a big knife and therefore an offensive weapon.

  11. shatnerpossum on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    Well, yeah. But if the burglar lives he sues. You are better off with a big gun.

  12. Quizard on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    Tricky issue, only if he was attacked and then if the assailant refused to withdraw. if he used it whilst the robber was fleeing he would be guilty of assault under UK law. The use of a sword may be frowned upon by the courts if it got that far. A solicitor or Barrister may work on that against your brother. I hope the link below will help.

  13. pinkhamster99 (nWo) Shell Yeah!! on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    He’d be better off to use it than the burglar to accidentally injure himself on it.

  14. The Mechanic on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    Using any defence of your property is illegal in this stupid PC world we live in . You are supposed to let them help themselves then claim the insurance .Don’t forget to leave your lights on at night in case they fall over and hurt themselves , because you have a duty of care to them , and you can be sued if they injure themselves. You think i am kidding i am not that is on the statute books. The inmates took over this asylum years ago

  15. keith d on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    If you are in the UK then it is a little bit of a grey area. The basic principle is that if you feel your in danger then you are allowed to use reasonable force to defend yourself.
    There is a lot of room for interpretation in what constitutes reasonable force, if your brother was home alone confronted a burglar and then picked up the sword as an instinctive response then he would probably be ok.
    The Tony Martin case is a good example – he shot a 16 year old in the back when he was climbing OUT of a window, he couldn’t prove that he felt he was in danger and was convicted.

  16. old man on June 9th, 2009 9:56 am

    Like most government premises these days I have zero tolerance rule in my house, so enter at your own risk it will be bad for your well being, NO MERCY.

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