🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <dberkes-3012971953290001@192.168.1.30>,
Dan Berkes-Lemos <dberkes@marvin.webcom.com> wrote:

>Does anyone really think that taking pepper spray out of the hands of
>police will actually curb police brutality? Take away the implement and
>something else will take its place just as quickly. I'd rather see effort
>expended on reforming the human resources of police departments.

If pepper spray is outlawed, only outlaws will have pepperspray.

They can take the pepperspray from my cold, dead fingers.

Sounds to me more like a case of the police needing a little better over-
sight into how liberally they can use it.  It seems that there are more
stories about inviduals using them for legitimate self-defense than gangs
have pepper-spray wars.

Some people carry guns for self-defense.  I'm ok with that, but it's not
my personal cup-o-tea.  I think pepper spray is great -- it is a sort of
non-lethal, non-contact self defense mechanism that allows you to safely
escape from harm without having to put a hole in someone's head just
because they attacked you.  It's not attractive or flashy enough for the
street hoods, so it seems to be a mostly self-defense tool.

As a man and being of somewhat intimidating size, I'm pretty lucky.  For
people of slighter build that might look like easy marks for street scum,
pepper-spray is the best stuff I've heard of yet for a citizen to carry.

I'd much rather have cops carrying the stuff and using it as an intermediate
step between the baton and the handgun.  Too big of a gap in between
otherwise.

All opinions expressed are mine, and somewhat generalized.  Just seems like
a silly debate to me.  It's bad enough that people can't feel safe walking
home at night, why would outlawing pepper spray make things easier?


--Doug

-- 
Doug Mason, Consulting Messaging Czar (douglas@netcom.com) 
http://www.kentconsulting.com/dmason
95/96 TZ250, AMA#154, WSMC#154, CCS#154, GLRRA#54, AFM#154r