# Solosam, you are a lazy liar

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solosam-you-are-a-lazy-liar/652524>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [March 10, 2013, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solosam-you-are-a-lazy-liar/652524 "2013-03-10T03:17:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 14

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**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solosam-you-are-a-lazy-liar/652524/14 "2013-03-10T15:25:28Z")

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I am actually on **solosam** ’s defense on this one. Look, the law essentially says that you commit assault by doing either “a”, “b”, or “c”. So **solosam** was basically arguing that this situation applies to “b”.

> [@Guys and creepiness](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guys-and-creepiness/651716/452):
>
> Here’s an example that will suffice:
> 
> [http://www.law-lib.utoronto.ca/bclc/crimweb/bboard/Assault%20in%20Crime%20and%20Tort.pdf](http://www.law-lib.utoronto.ca/bclc/crimweb/bboard/Assault%20in%20Crime%20and%20Tort.pdf)
> 
> Canadian Criminal Code  
> PART VIII : OFFENCES AGAINST THE PERSON AND REPUTATION  
> Assault
> 
> 1. (1) A person commits an assault when (a) without the consent of another person, he applies force intentionally to that other person, directly or indirectly;
> 
> (b) he attempts or threatens, by an act or a gesture, to apply force to another person, if he has, or **causes that other person to believe on reasonable grounds that he has, present ability to effect his purpose** ; or
> 
> This is exactly what I am talking about. If you pull out a weapon (pepper spray, taser, gun, knife, makes no difference) you have made me believe that you intend to apply force against me. Since I have a legal right to be in the place, and I have given absolutely no indication that I was a threat to you, you have committed assault by brandishing your weapon.

Basically, it doesn’t matter if he left out “c”. All the law says is that if you do a, b, or c, then you have committed assault. Whether this situation does apply to “b” or not is a different debate. But the fact that **solosam** left out “c” is irrelevant because he is arguing that the woman clutching a pepper spray bottle applies to situation “b”.

In other words: it doesn’t matter if the situation in question does not apply to “c”; all you need for it to be considered assault is for one of the letters to apply. In this case, **solosam** is arguing that this situation applies to “b”. Whether I agree with him or not is irrelevant; the point is that he can ignore “c” if he wants to, because this law states that if a person does “a”, “b”, or “c”, then he/she has committed assault. So even if the person does “b”, but not “a” or “c”, then he/she has committed assault.

> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#):
>
> Why did he leave that [letter “c” of the law] off?

Because he _can_ for reasons explained above.

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