Quote History Quoted: That kind of thing is why I started carrying pepper spray last year - you can deal with a mouthy jackass trying to pick a fight and potentially not have to shoot, and if you do, you've shown you were at least trying to end the confrontation.
I do feel like pepper spray should be talked up a lot more.
Chuck Haggard's presentation on less-lethal options is very enlightening on how capable the stuff is.
ETA: and for me, j-frame, pepper spray, knife.
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I don't know how well legally that works. Someone tries to pick a fight, you walk away. If you spray them, you've assaulted them, they can assault you in self defense, and if you shoot them @ that point, you're attempting murder.
If you walk away, they grab your arm, they've assaulted you, time to display lethal force - if they don't retreat, game on & hopefully you can articulate it well before the grand jury.
If you're having to articulate why you pepper sprayed a guy who was trying to pick a fight, who then jumped you and you shot him, if I'm a grand juror, I'm voting to send that to a petit jury to sort that out.
IANAL, but I don't carry less lethal methods of defending myself. There's no problem until there is a problem, then it's game on.