The United Kingdom has been moving politically to the Left for some time now, but even in our wildest dreams, never could we have imagined that it would become illegal to protect yourself there.

As reported by The New American, British subjects seeking advice about what are and are not permissible self-defense instruments found some recently on a police web site. It is sponsored by the British government’s Police National Legal Database.

Q589: Are there any legal self defence products that I can buy?

The police answer:

The only fully legal self defence product… is a rape alarm.

Now, the site goes on to say that there may be other products, but those have yet to be fully tested and that “if you purchase one you must be aware… there is always a possibility that you will be arrested and detained until the product, it’s [sic] contents and legality can be verified.”

That’s not very reassuring, so in an effort to further reduce anxiety about “other” self-defense products, the site points out that any product a British citizen purchases other than a rape alarm “must not [be] a product which is made or adapted to cause a person injury.” Anyone possessing “such a product in public (and in private in specific circumstances) is against the law.”

No, this isn’t a joke – it’s real

The site goes on to offer more helpful hints and tips. For instance, a British citizen can use a squirt bottle filled with a safe, but brightly colored, dye that would help police find and arrest an alleged criminal – after an attack. Of course, that approach presumes that the person who is attacked survives it or is able to physically “squirt” his or her attacker before getting the stuffing knocked out of him or her.

But even then, the police database site warns, a citizen should “be aware that even a seemingly safe product… would become an offensive weapon [if] it would be used in a way that was intended to cause injury.”

Then comes this disclaimer: “The above advice is given in good faith, you must make your own decision and this website cannot be held responsible for the consequences of the possession, use or misuse of any self defence product.”

Except, of course, a rape alarm.

Ridiculous? Of course. A phony story? Hardly; click the link above and read it for yourself.

Upon learning of the website and its suggestions regarding how British citizens should, er, not defend themselves, the National Rifle Association did in fact confirm “that British subjects continue to live at the mercy of their potential attackers.” The advice reads like an appeal for victims to graciously suffer criminal violence while removing “any remaining vestiges of the traditional right to self-defense,” the group said.

“Self-defense is illegal”

As further noted by The New American:

Real people have experienced the absurdity of such rules being enforced with diligence across the country. Three knife-wielding burglars [guns are illegal in England] invaded a home in England, tied up the family members and threatened to kill the father. One of the members managed to escape and get help. The family member and the helper returned and inflicted permanent brain damage on one of burglars — a criminal, by the way, with more than 50 previous convictions — using a cricket bat. Authorities arrested the defendants — the victims — and sent them to prison for more than two years. The attacker? He escaped punishment.

In another case, a well-known TV personality was seated at her kitchen table with her daughter one night when she caught several young men peering through her window. She immediately began looking around for something to use to defend herself and her daughter from what she believed was an imminent attack and found a kitchen knife. She waved it in front of them and chased them away.

But she was later visited by Hertfordshire police, who summarily informed her that the knife was an “offensive weapon” and, thus, illegal.

She wasn’t arrested, but, as a local report explained: “She was not looking to be a vigilante… but… police explained to her that even if you’re at home alone and you have an intruder, you are not allowed to protect yourself.”

If you have any plans to relocate to the UK, you might want to rethink that decision.

Sources:

http://www.thenewamerican.com

https://www.askthe.police.uk

http://www.marplerifleandpistolclub.org.uk