This house believes in a right to self-defense

Self-defense involves defending oneself, one's property or the wellbeing of another from physical harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many jurisdictions, but the interpretation varies widely. The self-defense laws of modern states find their origin in the Roman Law principle of dominium whereby any attack on the members of the family or the property it owned was a personal attack on the pater familias (head of household), and thus could be defended as such. This right is recognized to varying extents in all states, and by the United Nations. The level of force one may use in self-defense, however, varies between countries, and usually centers around what constitutes "reasonable force", which is a fairly nebulous term in specific application, but relatively straightforward in a broad sense. Some critics of self-defense law argue that it is outmoded, belonging to an earlier, more barbarous time, while its supporters insist that it remains a necessity in a still dangerous, modern world. Debates on self-defense revolve around the central question of whether in fact an individual has the right to defend himself his property, and others against physical attack by means of force, or whether exerting force against another, even defensively, is itself a crime.