Reply #45: There can be a burglary for the purpose of committing rape or any other crime

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

A burglary is commonly defined as the breaking and entering of a structure with the intent to commit a felony. Any felony, not just a theft. If someone breaks into an apartment to rape the woman who lives there, it's a burglary and a rape. The thing that bothers me is that you never know the intent of the burglar you might confront, until he carries out his intended crime. If his intent for burglarizing your home is murder, rape, vandalism, theft, or serious bodily injury, can you afford to wait until he carries out his intended crime? In other words, although burglary is itself a crime, it is a crime in order to commit another crime once inside. Can you afford to find out just what purpose the burglary has? What if he saw your child at the mall, followed her home, and broke into your house to kidnap her?

As for me, I can't see myself even being able to shoot someone. I find guns frightening. But given a confrontation with a night time intruder, who knows? I might grab a baseball and kill them with it. But whatever I do, I know that, on balance, I would prefer to gamble on the side of the safety of my family.