should gays arm them selves (US)

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What about pepper spray?

Doesn't always work. Granted, when you're being threatened by someone close to you who you know well as opposed to a complete stranger it's much easier to use the spray than a gun, and I know some women who say pepper spray is for the drunks who forgot what "no" means and the gun for the more serious menaces.

A friend of mine works in a prison and she said the guards used pepper spray so powerful that they had to wear full body suits and while it subdued many it drove some even more insane with rage who kept fighting with their adrenaline maxed out. And that's inside prison walls. Outside there are many other factors that negate the usefulness of pepperspray or even turn it into a liability (for example, try using it on someone when the wind is against you). And it should be obvious that pepperspray isn't anywhere as much a deterrent to a mob or gang than a gun.

IIRC, there are some states where it's illegal to use pepperspray but not a gun...I have no idea why.

And an unexpected benefit of using a gun in self-defense is that an attacker usually takes one look at it and runs (so you don't have to fire), whereas many aren't cowed by pepperspray so that you're forced to use it, and it's less likely to work than a gun and even if you get him he can get it on you and then be REALLY ticked. That also means there's a lot less chance of any legal harassment beyond filing a police report (chasing someone off with a gun is a lot easier to justify than actually assaulting someone with pepperspray).