Guns Verses Non-Lethal Personal Safety Devices
When most people think about what the ideal weapon to have at your disposal to defend yourself in the event of a violent assault, the natural instinct is to wish for a gun. However, practical reasoning and real world statistics prove that relying on owning and keeping a gun in your possession for the purposes of self defense is in many ways a sense of false security, and may actually put you at greater risk of injury or death than simply remaining unarmed.
There are several reasons why owning a gun can be a danger to yourself and those around you; and we’re not necessarily talking about those you want to keep at bay. Thousands of American adults and children alike are shot and hundreds killed every year by accidental gunshot wounds from friends and family members who had absolutely no intention of harming the person in the first place. Thousands more are maimed or killed in the heat of passion, simply because a gun was at the disposal of an enraged or impassioned acquaintance or loved one who acted rashly and solved their anger with a permanent and irreversible solution.
What many people don’t realize is that there are several non-lethal alternatives to owning a gun, and many of them are even more effective than a gun for practical self defense in real world assault situations. Pepper spray, Mace, Tasers, and stun guns are all viable alternatives to carrying a firearm, and each one is highly capable of disabling an attacker in a non-lethal manner that requires no more strength than pulling a trigger.
In fact, in most cases one of the main factors that contribute to making these more reliable defenses is the fact that pulling the trigger of a powerful handgun and aiming the weapon while firing off a round requires a good bit of strength and technique. Most people assume that guns are simply point and click devices, when if fact a powerful recoil makes it very difficult to accurately use one in the instant it takes for a violent assault to occur. Alternatively, self defense sprays and shocking devices require very little if any strength at all, and rely very little on aiming. All of these devices can be safely used with very little training, and best of all, you’re not going to kill anyone if you accidentally discharge one of these devices.
While a gun may pose a formidable threat to any assailant, there is no guarantee that firing it will necessarily stop or disable an attacker. Even a direct shot to the gut may only maim a charging assailant, and drunk or drugged attackers may be impervious to any pain. Though perhaps even mortally injured, an infuriated attacker often will be able to struggle for several minutes after sustaining a gunshot wound, which is easily enough time to continue their aggression and possibly even wrestle control of the weapon out of the owner’s hands to use against them. Guns are also difficult to use against an animal attack, while self defense sprays work on all breathing animals. Pepper spray, Mace, Tasers, and stun guns will definitely disable an attacker if used properly, and do not pose a mortal threat to the owner of the device if it is taken and turned against them.
Consider also that guns are highly regulated, and will no doubt be restricted from many of the places you will find yourself in day to day situations. It might be convenient to have a gun in the home, but carrying it with you is highly impractical if not completely illegal.
Guns are also much more expensive than alternative forms of self defense, which typically can be purchased for as little as $20 through the Internet. This is another point: convenience. You can easily buy pepper spray and tasers online from a reputable online site such as PlanetMace.com, and receive your self defense products overnight through the mail. You can also purchase these devices at most local convenience stores and supermarkets.
While even non-lethal self defense products require some education and training in order to maximize their effectiveness in the case of an actual assault, they are still a much more practical and ultimately safer than a firearm.
