Why is setting up booby traps in your property illegal?

[cowcommander]

I've never understand the logic behind that. You can own guns to defend your home, but you're not allowed to set up booby traps to defend it?

[geek tragedy]

1. Society has a strong interest in banning death traps.

Unless you're anticipating an armed invasion, death traps designed to kill people for the crime of trespassing are immoral and rightfully illegal.

[Dreamer Tatum]

2. Suppose someone needs to come to your property to help you.

That is why booby traps are not legal.

[shraby]

3. What kind of booby traps? I've seen accounts of some that

have killed trespassers.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

4. It's the liberals. They hate law abiding citizens and love criminals.

That's why they want to grab all your guns and tax you and give your money to Mexican welfare queens in Cadillacs.

[Jamastiene]

28. Mexican welfare queens in Cadillacs

:rofl:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

30. Rabrrrrrr has inspired me today.

I strive to distill anti-right-winger sarcasm half as potent as his.

[Statistical]

5. It is called Indiscriminate harm.

A booby trap just as easily could maim or kill a delivery man, someone coming to your house requesting assitance, a Police Officer, a child, a member of your household, or even you.

Even worse imagine if you were crippled by your own booby trap only to have Paramedics arrive to also be crippled/killed by booby traps.

It is the same rational that has led countries to ban landmines. There is no way to ensure the person engaging the landmine is a combatant (or that the war is even still being fought). Along those lines lets say you booby trap your property what happens when you move away and forgot one of them (to kill the new owner's toddler)? Or lets say you just up and die of an heart attack. Who pays to remove your insane death aresenal? How does one ensure they got all the booby traps? If something happens in the future who is liable. Should all your assets be held in escrow for 20 years to pay for some future potential claims?

Starting to see the issues.

A firearm may be legal in human hands but a firearm rigged to fire at someone who trips a tripwire would be illegal for the same reason.

[cowcommander]

14. Never thought about the landmine analogy before, thanks

That makes sense

[A-Schwarzenegger]

6. Yeah, what could go wrong with a few booby traps on your property?

:*

[mrcheerful]

7. Because booby traps don't know the difference between a criminal and an

innocent person who just happened to step on your property. Not to mention a family member who accidentally sets off the damn thing for whatever reason.

[scheming daemons]

20. Neither do most gun-nuts

[wtmusic]

24. .

:spray:

[scheming daemons]

26. Because you can only trap boobies during boobie season

...and even then, only with a boobie permit.

[geckosfeet]

8. .... he asked in all seriousness

[jtuck004]

15. + n/t

[JDPriestly]

43. Maybe he has a raccoon problem?

Let me tell you, a raccoon stirring up all the seedlings in the garden is enough to make anyone start dreaming of booby traps.

But, if someone gets hurt on a booby trap -- even one set up for a raccoon, you could be liable. You don't have to kill anybody, just cause them to hurt themselves, and you have a serious problem.

Your neighbor's kid might come in your yard to find his dog -- and the result could be something you would regret for a long time.

[geckosfeet]

50. the raccoons are least of his problems

[Historic NY]

9. It sucks when you forget about one.

[Jamastiene]

17. Don't I know it.

I'll never forget stepping on my anti-hoodlum device years after the hoodlums grew up and quit trespassing. I forgot to take it up. Tetanus shots are no fun when you have to admit you stepped on a nail and know in the back of your mind you were the asshole who put it there.

Murder holes are legal though...last I checked. :evilgrin:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

10. Oh, another thing: don't lie in your sig line. It's bad form. -nt

[JVS]

13. cognito, ergo non sum.

[BeFree]

11. Heh

You might kill an innocent cow, commander?

[TexasObserver]

12. It's a public policy matter.

If they were allowed, how could first responders be protected?

Can you imagine every fire resulting in some fire fighter getting shot?


It is illegal and will always be illegal to booby trap your property. It will never be allowed.

[jtuck004]

16. I agree. Come on over I will show you mine. Don't bother calling, just show up. n/t

[mkultra]

18. you cannot defend property with deadly force

[provis99]

22. yes, you can defend property with deadly force.

You can even shoot repo men in Texas who come on your property to take back trucks you didn't pay for.

[mkultra]

25. every state is different but its still true in texas

they just say you are allowed to assume that anyone trying to gain entry to your property may be interested in doing you physical harm. As you can see, that would still make booby traps illegal.

[Anono Mouse]

41. In Texas the repo men can shoot back at you for that

[jobycom]

32. In Texas you can even use deadly force to defend someone else's property

A case in Houston a couple years ago had a homeowner murder two men he suspected were burgling his neighbor's house. He called 911 and told them he was going to shoot the two men, and while 911 told him not to, he walked out on his porch and shot them both in cold blood when they left the house.

No charges filed. He was a hero to some.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

33. IIRC, his legal rationale was they "turned and made a move toward him"

Even in that case there was the self defense aspect mixed in. I believe that is why the DA filed no charges.

That said, he still would probably get off if he leaned out a third floor window and shot the guys from a fortified bunker. It would be called jury nullification.

[jobycom]

48. No, there was no self defense aspect at all.

Texas law allows a person to kill someone if you believe they are harming or stealing your neighbor's property. It's a specific "right," and that's all the man claimed. This man had been dying for a chance like this. He owned guns and memorized the law and had his legal argument ready just in case he got the chance. He told the 911 operator he was going to kill them before he went outside. There was even a plainclothes cop who had arrived and saw him shoot them, and he testified that he shot one of them in the back as he was running away, although the coroner said it was in his side. This guy just wanted to kill someone.

http://www.tdcaa.com/node/1523

"According to the state penal code, a person can use force or deadly force to defend someone else's property if he reasonably believes he has a legal duty to do so or the property owner had requested his protection."

[WildEyedLiberal]

35. This is the correct answer n/t

[melm00se]

46. it's called

"Castle laws". in some states, it is illegal to use deadly force if you have the ability to retreat from the situation. In states that have so called "Castle laws", that requirement is removed and you can engage an intruder with deadly force in cases of any violent attack or an intrusion which may lead to violent attack once they penetrate your "castle".

States with Castle laws are:

* Alaska
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Hawaii
* Illinois
* Kansas
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Nevada
* New Jersey
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oregon.
* Rhode Island
* Utah
* West Virginia
* Wyoming

There is a variant of the Castle doctrine called "stand your ground". This also removes the requirement to retreat and allows you to use deadly force if after announcing that you are armed and will fire. States with this kind of law are:

* Alabama
* Arizona
* Florida
* Georgia
* Indiana*
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Montana
* Nevada
* Oklahoma
* South Carolina
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Washington

[Jamastiene]

19. Because you will forget where you put them and become a

victim of your own protection mechanism...especially if you suffer from CRS like I do. :blush:

[Roon]

55. I don't know if it's true or not

but I heard of someone whose cabin was being broken into by vagrants all winter. So they put rat poison in the single bottle of vodka they left. ick!

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

21. They are indiscriminate

Generally, you have no control as to who falls victim to your traps.
Could be a meterman, mailman, police officer, trespasser, kids...

[spanone]

23. cause assholes would booby trap their property

[wtmusic]

29. * Best Reply * nt

[geckosfeet]

51. agreed

[DainBramaged]

27. What are you thinking about?

If you have to defend your property, you need to move to a better neighborhood DUDE.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

59. There are no better neighborhoods available to most people

[fishwax]

31. I don't see the similarity between owning a gun and setting a booby trap

That you're allowed to own guns to defend your home doesn't mean that you're allowed to use them on anyone who happens to approach your property.

[HEyHEY]

34. I know, eh! Bastards don't let you buy land mines either!

[howard112211]

36. Yes, we absolutely need teabaggers laying minefields.

:crazy:

[LAGC]

37. Because kids could get snared by them.

I can't tell you how often do we see neighbor kids stray onto our property... what do you expect, they're kids.

[Anono Mouse]

38. Because guns are sold by a licensed manufacturer for one thing

Because guns are sold by a licensed manufacturer for one thing,
and for another- Many people who start messing around with making explosive devices find out the hard way by either killing innocent people and/or them selves.
I have seen photos of how people misused explosive devices and the fatal or near fatal consequences of the out come of building booby traps that have gone wrong.
Why don't you call up you local City Hall and ask them your questions about your desires to make booby traps leagal and see what type of reply you receive, unless you are a cop... if you are a cop why don't you have your head examined by a licensed psycologist , because they might be able to help you.
I once worked with a man who worked for the CIA and was trained by Special Forces during the Vietnam era.
We talked about people making comments about how they knew how to make booby traps and I asked him what his opinion was on the subject since he had experience in that line of work.
He replied "People who make booby traps usually really don't care who the kill, and they are different than guns because a gun normally requires you to at least attempt to identify who you are trying to kill".
Personally, I don't like booby traps or guns for that matter.
I have seen too many people die in situations where it was not really necessary, inoocent lives lost and/or damaged beyond repair.

[Anono Mouse]

39. I would like to add this

Next thing you will be wanting to know why we can't use Agent Orange any more.
And if you look up the effects of Depleted Uranium and how is is killing people an effecting people genetic make up in a way simular to Agent Orange and how babies are born to this day with horrible mutated defects.
Depleted Uranium is killing American Troops and effecting the children that they might want to have some day.
And the Depleted Uranium comes from American sources in the armored plating and ammunition theat uses D.U.
You probably wonder why Napalm was made illegal to use during the Vietnam war after too many innocent people died because of careless negligence.
I dislike gun nuts and booby trap bomb nuts.

[Morning Dew]

40. Ask Harry and Marv!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90FR8m-zEH4

[TheWraith]

42. It's about responsibility. To use a firearm, a human intelligence has to be used.

That person holds full responsibility with what they do with a gun. If they use it properly, they're okay--if they don't, they're a criminal.

A booby trap--say, a spring loaded bear trap--has no intelligence controlling it. It doesn't know if what steps inside it is an attacker, a lost dog, or a 12 year old kid playing where they shouldn't. In effect, it takes human intelligence out of the process of determining what happens. So someone can set up a trap intending to harm only burglars, but then nail a teenager sneaking in after curfew. Or a wayward kid. Or someone else who did nothing wrong. All because there wasn't a person in control of these potentially deadly weapons.

[Abq_Sarah]

44. Actually, it depends on the type of trap

For instance, in many areas it's completely legal to use road spike type of devices to keep ATV riders/vehicular trespassers from cutting your fences and entering your property.

[Warren DeMontague]

45. Or the type of boobies.

C'mon, someone had to make that joke.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

58. BTDT and a bit more

[DemocratSinceBirth]

47. What If Your Home Is Booby Trapped, You Go Out For A Pizza, And An Electrical Fire Starts?

What happens to the emergency workers?

[Ikonoklast]

49. Well, if you didn't pay your $75 fee, they watch it burn.

:evilgrin:

[flvegan]

52. Heh. You said "booby"

[bemildred]

53. Dang! It is? nt

[Common Sense Party]

54. What's wrong with boobies?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

56. Because trespassing is not a capital offence.

It's for the same reason that you are not allowed to shoot pickpockets - the punishment is disproportionate to the crime.

Not to mention all the incidents of people with legitimate reason to be there being caught in booby traps there would be.

[wtmusic]

60. Not yet, but look for Texas to lead the way in boobytrappers' rights.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9381762&mesg_id=9384303

It all comes down to what the framers really meant by the Second Amendment:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, and to protect their Personal Belongings with the use of Mines and Hairtrigger Shotguns connected to Tripwires placed about their Residences, shall not be infringed."

[meow mix]

57. AT&T has plexiglass man-trap

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/06/21/att_nsa

ive heard of these being used in other places too