Last Updated on May 11, 2022 by Fair Punishment Team

Knowing how to protect yourself is vitally important. If you cannot properly protect yourself then you might feel as if you aren’t ever safe.

That you are constantly vulnerable to whatever an outsider might do to you.

That you might be attacked at any moment and not be able to defend yourself properly because you don’t have anything to protect yourself with or because you don’t know how to defend yourself.

Whilst it is always encouraged that you defend yourself properly when you are attacked, it is also important that you don’t end up hurting someone inadvertently or using a type of defence that isn’t legal.

Knowing what is within your rights and what is the best way to defend yourself whilst staying within the law are important considerations so you need to know what you can and cannot do when keeping yourself safe.

If you are wondering, for example, is pepper spray legal, then you need to read something that will provide you with that information and do so in an easy to read and easy to comprehend manner.

Luckily you are reading such a piece which will explain all the legal boundaries that you must consider with thinking how to protect yourself.

Is Pepper Spray Legal?

Now that we’ve set out what this piece is about, let’s explain whether or not pepper spray is legal in the United States or not.

It is totally legal to buy pepper spray in all fifty states in the United States however, there are some restrictions not just on where exactly you can carry it but the dose which you can purchase and the age at which you can purchase it.

For example, it is prohibited to bring pepper spray on a federal flight or to have it after you have gone past the metal detectors.

Similarly, if pepper spray is either available in the workplace or used in the workplace then it must be monitored, and all employees are encouraged to make sure to use a Safety Data Sheet to ensure that they are aware of any such dangers that might be involved at their workplace including whether pepper spray may be used and the potential effects it could have on their healthy.

Aside from it being banned on planes and strictly monitored in the workplace, pepper spray is legal to purchase across the US and legal to carry without a permit in most states.

However, there are states that require you to either be over 18 or to have some form of identification in order to purchase pepper spray.

Equally, it is considered important that you know the difference between pepper spray and tear gas. Whilst pepper spray is legal across the United States, tear gas is not and in fact in many states you can be committing a felony if you purchase tear gas.

Therefore, it is entirely legal to use pepper spray in appropriate situations throughout the United States, including in the act of self defense, however you must make sure that you follow the requirements set out by your state in relation to the legal purchase of pepper spray.

Now that we have explained that pepper spray can be used as a means of self defense in the US, let’s look at some other ways that you can defend yourself.

Other Ways To Defend Yourself

One other popular means of self defense is another type of spray, namely hornet spray.

However, if you wish to go down the route of using a spray to defend yourself it is better to simply buy pepper spray as you will be on firmer legal ground with using that as a means of defending yourself.

A true alternative means of defending yourself is learning about self defense.

Having the skills to defend yourself without using any weapons or being forced to resort to having to carry a weapon around with you all the time ensures that you can feel truly protected and not constantly having to wonder whether you have brought a method of self defense with you.

It also means that you can spend time learning about how to properly use your body and know what exercises you can do to get truly fit.

Taking self defense classes may seem harder than simply purchasing pepper spray or something similar, and this is true, but they also mean that you are reliant on them.

By taking self defense classes you aren’t reliant on anyone or anything other than your own body and your own assessment of the situation as to whether or not you think that you will be able to deal with your potential assailant.

Using self defense also minimises the risk of accidentally blinding someone with pepper spray who may not be even attempting tot attack you at all.

Why Knowing How To Defend Yourself Is Important

Whether you use pepper spray or self defense techniques, knowing how to defend yourself is vitally important not just for your but for your family as well. Self defense should be at the top of everyone’s priority list.

Whilst we are living in an increasingly safe world and one in which violent crime has globally gone as down, as compared to centuries past, this doesn’t mean that we should simply think that there isn’t a chance someone might want to hurt us or that we could become involved in a fight.

This is why knowing how to defend yourself is so important because it ensures that if you are involved in a situation in which you must confront someone who is attempting to harm you that you know exactly how to respond and can do so quickly and effectively.

Knowing about self defense not only keep your safe but it will also ensure that your family are kept safe and that, potential other victims can be kept safe as well.

We must come together to ensure that we all know how best to protect ourselves in order that we can truly make the world a much safer and better place.