In the context of constantly growing crime on the roads, when robbery of motorists has become an almost everyday occurrence, the issue of self-defense becomes very acute.
It is no coincidence that many people keep an air pistol in the glove compartment of their car, a knife, a pump-action gun in the back seat, a stun gun in the door pocket… But the main thing is not to cross the line of the law yourself.
Everything must be according to the law
In principle, as explained by the Deputy Head of the Department of Licensing and Permitting Work of the Main Directorate of the Special Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Police Colonel Valery KUSHNIRYK, you can carry in your car any self-defense weapon that you have legally.
Private individuals have the right to buy so-called civilian weapons, “intended for use by citizens of the Russian Federation for self-defense, sports and hunting.”
There are a number of design restrictions, including that burst firing is not allowed, and the capacity of the magazine or drum must not exceed ten rounds.
The full list of civilian «arsenal» is given in Article 3 of the Federal Law «On Weapons», effective since July 1, 1997.
It includes, first of all, smooth-bore firearms, both those specially designed for self-defense (including those with traumatic cartridges that shoot rubber bullets), and sports and hunting ones.
They are acquired with a license issued by the internal affairs agencies at the place of residence, and must be registered with the police.
To purchase hunting and sporting guns (for hunting purposes), you must have a hunting license.
The owner of a gun for self-defense receives a permit to store the weapon, and for hunting — for storage and carrying.
Firearms with a rifled barrel, as well as a hunting combination gun (one barrel is rifled, the other is smoothbore), can be acquired only after five years of law-abiding ownership of a hunting smoothbore weapon.
Hunting and sporting pneumatic weapons with a muzzle energy of 7.5 to 25 joules, like firearms, are purchased with a license and are subject to registration.
By the way, in terms of shot power, such pneumatics are quite comparable to conventional guns.
A license is also required to purchase gas pistols and revolvers, as well as barrel-less firearms with traumatic and gas cartridges.
The license simultaneously serves as permission to store and carry.
You can buy air guns, pistols and revolvers with a muzzle energy of up to 7.5 joules and a caliber of up to 4.5 mm, stun guns and gas sprayers loaded with tear gas or irritants absolutely freely, without a license or registration.
But, for example, ordinary police batons cannot serve as civilian weapons — this is special equipment that is prohibited for private individuals to purchase.
Other objects with striking and crushing action, as well as throwing action, are also illegal — brass knuckles, flails, boomerangs, nunchucks, shurikens, etc.
It should be borne in mind that barrel-less firearms, as well as stun guns, must be of Russian manufacture.
Foreign analogues are prohibited here.
Any civilian weapon must comply with state standards and the norms of the Ministry of Health. Therefore, when buying, ask for a copy of the certificate.
In general, it would be a good idea to have a document confirming, for example, that the canister contains legally permitted tear gas or irritant gas, and not prohibited nerve gas or poison gas.
Or that the electric shocker is not classified as a combat device in terms of discharge strength.
Or that the caliber and power of the air pistol comply with the standard. Such information is indicated in the weapon's passport.
Owners of firearms must have a permit for their storage and carrying.
If all the documents are in order, it is not forbidden to transport up to five unloaded and loaded guns in a car at the same time (this is the maximum permitted by law).
Here it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of «carrying» and «transporting».
Even if you do not have a permit to carry (as in the case of self-defense guns), you can store any weapon in different places — at home, with relatives, at a dacha, etc.
And you have every right to transport the weapon in a car between these addresses at least every day.
Or, let's say, to the shooting range where you train, to a hunting club, to a competition site, to an exhibition, and so on…
The only condition is that you can't keep it in plain sight.
According to the rules, any weapon in a car should be transported in covers, holsters, or special cases — so that it is not visible from the side.
Advice on the subject
From the point of view of ease of use, compact means of self-defense are, of course, preferable. But, for example, gas pistols are not recommended for motorists.
To shoot without leaving the car, you need to stick your whole hand out the window and take into account which way the wind is blowing.
Otherwise, some of the gas may get into the car, and it is still a question of who will be worse off — the enemy standing outside, or you in the confined space of the car.
Carrying a stun gun for self-defense is also a questionable option.
When used, it can accidentally discharge onto the car body — and a short circuit is guaranteed. If you are wearing synthetic clothing that collects static electricity, you risk getting a discharge from your own stun gun.
The same thing in rainy weather.
The best option, in the opinion of experts, is a barrel-less weapon with a traumatic effect. It shoots rubber bullets, which, if accurately hit, disable the enemy.
If you don’t want to knock him out cold, it is not recommended to aim at the head…
Until recently, these models did not look very aesthetically pleasing: a magazine, usually for four, less often for two cartridges, with a pistol grip.
The role of the barrel is played by the cartridge case.
But now new generation models are appearing — they look like real Makarov, Smith & Wesson, Walther.
Under the receiver, instead of a regular barrel, they have a guide for a rubber ball.
And two more pieces of advice.
Firstly, any weapon requires training. It is useless to buy, say, a pistol, if you do not really know how to shoot.
Secondly, weapons are not intended to be used to prove your case to your opponent after an accident (such cases, alas, are known).
A gun, pistol, or stun gun is an argument for the most extreme case, when your health or life is in real danger.
The right to self-defense
Purchasing a weapon or other means of self-defense implies the possibility of using it in the event of an attack by criminals.
But this issue is so delicate that even professional lawyers do not undertake to give any unambiguous recommendations.
Infrom what the general director of the independent expert bureau «Versiya» Stanislav SHAPOVALOV says:
— The law allows harm to be caused to the «offending party» if «the offence was accompanied by violence dangerous to life… or with an immediate threat of using such violence.»
According to Article 37 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, harm caused to another person in necessary self-defence is not a crime.
It is curious that the authors of the Commentary to the Criminal Code, examining this topic, quote A.N. Radishchev: “If, as I walk, a villain attacks me and, raising a dagger above my head, wants to pierce me with it, will I be considered a murderer if I warn him of his crime and throw him lifeless at my feet?”
Indeed, this phrase provides a fairly capacious justification for a person’s right to self-defense.
Moreover, the law, by definition, “must be on the side of the defender, not the criminal.”
This means that you can defend yourself with more effective means than those used by the aggressor, for example, shoot a pistol if he tries to hit you with brass knuckles.
By law, necessary defense is also permissible in cases where there is a chance to save yourself in another way — run away, call someone for help, etc.
It is not necessary to wait for the aggression to begin — citizens have the right to preventive defense «in the presence of a real threat of attack.» Moreover, not long ago, Article 37 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation received an important addition.
It is worth quoting it in full: “The actions of a person defending himself are not considered to be an excess of the limits of necessary defense if this person, due to the unexpectedness of the attack, could not objectively assess the degree and nature of the danger of the attack.”
That is, if, for example, at night on the street a stranger suddenly breaks into a car and the driver, out of fear, shoots at him with a gas tank or stabs him with a stun gun, then the court may well recognize these actions as necessary defense.
But… it may not recognize them.
Unfortunately, there is always a risk that the court will «not understand» a person who, while defending himself, caused significant harm to the attacker. Of course, it is better to justify oneself in court than to lie in intensive care or even worse.
But the problem is that our judges are still learning true justice, and their traditions and concepts often remain at the level of past years, when active self-defense of citizens from criminals, to put it mildly, was not encouraged and the notorious excess of the limits of necessary defense could send a person to prison for a long time.
Since then, the laws have changed, but the advice remains relevant: use weapons only when there is really no other way out.
It must be assumed that the court will recognize the legality of defending yourself with weapons against an armed attacker or one who knows hand-to-hand combat techniques, or against several unarmed people (for example, if they beat you).
It is a different matter with less obvious situations.
For example, based on considerations of humanity, the law allows harm to be caused to an obviously minor or insane aggressor only under the condition that there is no other way to avoid danger.
This is a very ambiguous point — after all, it is not always possible to determine by eye how old the attacker is and how sane he is.
And the word «obviously» is a rather vague definition.
It should also be remembered that an ordinary conflict, even with swearing and threats, is not yet a reason to grab a weapon.
A textbook story: a man made a remark from the balcony to the noisy passengers of an approaching car, and one of them went to “sort things out,” tried to enter the apartment, insulted the owner, wanted to hit him. In response, without further ado, he stabbed him with a knife and was ultimately convicted.
In such cases, judges today will most likely see an excess of the limits of necessary self-defense.
In addition, when defending yourself, do not forget the proverb «don't hit a man when he's down.»
If the attacker fell and lost consciousness after your blow, then adding even a fist is too much, or, in legal terms, «reprisal, lynching.»
You cannot shoot or, say, throw a stone in the back of a criminal who is trying to escape.
In practice, I repeat, in each specific case the court decides how adequate the actions of the defender were.
Therefore, it is best to obtain the testimony of eyewitnesses who can testify that you had legal grounds to use a weapon.
V. Tomin
Source: «Klakson» No. 6, 2004