Disempowered Italians

Dave Kopel posts on the shocking nature of Italy's soon-to-be repealed self defense laws. From his previous article on the issue:

"The courts insist that the defense must be 'proportional' to the aggression -- so that if a man is using his bare hands to commit rape, the woman cannot fight back with a gun. Likewise, if your home is invaded by a gang armed with knives, the courts will not allow you to use a firearm against them."

So the physical force of a much stronger man is proportional to that wielded by a smaller, less strong woman? And one guy with a knife is proportional to a gang of men with knives? Can these judges count? I cannot express how much this appalls me. Hopefully the new statutes will redefine proportionality to have some relationship to the level of potential danger (although they apparently will not condition use of deadly force on the person being under "immediate threat," of which I am skeptical).