On May 5, 2021, Utah HB 227 went into effect, in part because of the testimony of a defendant charged with seven counts of felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony. The new law triggers a pretrial, judge-only hearing process once a defendant alleges he or she was acting in self-defense or defense of others.
So, you’ve just been forced to defend yourself in a self-defense shooting. Now what do you do? In the heat of the moment, your only thought was to act in self-defense to protect your life; but once the smoke clears, your mind is rattled with worry…
“If I had more bullets, I would have shot them all again and again.” Those words were spoken by Bernie Goetz on December 31, 1984, during an interview with local law enforcement in Concord, New Hampshire. Goetz is perhaps best known by the name the media gave him at that time: The Subway Vigilante. He’d shot four young men he felt threatened him while he rode the subway.
Despite being somewhat ineffective, pepper spray is one of the most popular less-than-lethal safety tools out there. While it won’t save your life, it can create an opportunity to escape or even to prepare a stronger defense. Unfortunately, not everyone knows how to use it properly, and not understanding the correct way to use something is almost as bad as not having it in the first place. Just like with a firearm, knife, or other self-defense tool, you need to know how to use pepper spray the right way if you want any chance to escape from an attacker.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Just as a bullet leaving the muzzle of a gun creates recoil, making the personal decision to be your own defender brings new challenges to consider. Gun owners liability insurance provides coverage for damages resulting from negligence with a firearm. This means that such a policy would exclusively cover damages from unintentional harm. While this may be a worthwhile investment against such an incident, it doesn’t cover acts of lawful self-defense, which is what many people are looking for when they think of gun insurance.
We’ve all seen how biased the legal system can be against gun owners. So, what’s a responsibly armed person to do? Maybe you’ve heard how self-defense coverage can be a saving grace during the legal aftermath of a self-defense incident. But with all the different legal defense and concealed carry weapon (CCW) insurance providers out there, how do you know what separates the good from the best? What do you actually need in your CCW or self-defense insurance policy?
As gun owners know best, gun laws are complex and one false move could put you on the other side of the law. Plus, gun laws are different in every state, which makes things confusing for law-abiding individuals across the nation. For example, the use of force in one state may constitute “deadly force” in another state, possibly creating a sticky situation if you’re traveling between states.
Pepper spray is frequently recommended as a primary or secondary defensive tool. It’s easy to see why some people suggest it, considering pepper spray’s history and accessibility, especially for those not yet old enough to legally carry a firearm. However, if you’re thinking about adding pepper spray or a similar defensive spray to your self-defense toolbox, there are a multitude of reasons not to do so. Want to know more? Here’s our list of the top 10 reasons not to use pepper spray.
“What’s the difference between pepper spray and Mace®?” is a fairly common question. It’s understandable, because there are many variations on defensive sprays: pepper spray, pepper gel, pepper foam, Mace, and OC spray, to name a few. Today, we’ll focus on the specific differences between pepper spray as a general product and the brand name product Mace.
While it’s true that pepper spray, also called OC (Oleoresin Capsicum) spray, is an incredibly popular self-defense tool, it’s not the one-size-fits-all answer that many see it as. Police officers, security guards, and private citizens interested in self-defense have all utilized pepper spray effectively inside of self-defense incidents to prevent falling victim to violent crime. In fact, pepper spray is so popular and socially accepted that in most states you can find pepper spray in the checkout line of your local hardware or big box store, right alongside the other products they sell. But there’s an important question to ask: Does the popularity of pepper spray lead to people ignoring the potential issues that could come from having it or using it?
