Republicans Work to Make Purchasing Mace, Pepper Spray an Easier Process

[Prepper]

If I am correct I think that the fine for Pepper spray w/o a permit is $50.

If you're referring to MA, then no its a year or two in jail (I forget which).

 

[vellnueve]

Sen. Brown needs to run for governor.

 

[Bruce for NH State Rep]

I've run out of words to describe what a detestable piece of shit John Rosenthal is.

 

[Bruce for NH State Rep]

My wife works in Massachusetts quite a bit. As far as I know, there's no provision for issuing non-resident restricted FID cards, so she'd need to shell out the $100 for a NR LTC just to carry a $12 can of pepper spray in MA.

I told her to carry it anyway. If she ever needed to use it, the last thing she'd be thinking at the time would be "Am I hurting John Rosenthal's delicate sensibilities by doing this?".

 

[Bruce for NH State Rep]

Sgt. Hazelhurst said his department doesn't object to eliminating the licensing requirement. At the same time, however, he acknowledged the possibility of the sprays being misused could increase.

So, um, where are all the news stories about macing sprees and pepper spray assaults int he other 49 states?

What? You mean, it simply isn't happening, and this bullshit is nothing more than a bunch of statist a**h***s blowing smoke up our backsides?

I. Am. Truly. Shocked.

 

[Coyote33]

Spray Delay

Spray delay
Mace, pepper call for patience

8 comments | Add a comment

Although not meant to be lethal, Mace and pepper spray are potent irritants and should be handled and carried only by the truly responsible.

Wherever these items are available, there’s always the chance that curious children will come across carelessly stored spray and set it off, or that having the spray at hand could cause a person to use it rashly, in anger.

Massachusetts aims to guard against such misuses with its law requiring that residents get a Firearms Identification Card to carry such sprays. Residents who want the sprays — by and large, women seeking a means of self-defense — must apply for the card at their local police station, pay a $25 fee, undergo a background check and fingerprinting, and then wait about four weeks for the card to be issued.

House Bill 2237, sponsored by state Reps. George N. Peterson, R-Grafton, Paul K. Frost, R-Auburn, Todd M. Smola, R-Palmer and others, would let Massachusetts residents buy self-defense sprays such as Mace and pepper spray without a license.

Although most states don’t require the step, the FID requirement seems to us an appropriate defense against possible misuse of the sprays. The wait and cost aren’t excessive, and the requirement can serve to weed out applicants whose record or background raises questions about their intent or reliability. The law also conveys the message that possessing Mace or pepper spray is a privilege not to be taken lightly.

Residents who are willing to go through the permitting process are probably more likely, generally speaking, to treat the sprays with coolheaded care and respect.

Obviously, women who fear they are in serious danger from a known threat should receive help and protection from law enforcement, social service professionals and other appropriate sources. But that is not the purpose of these sprays, which are designed as a just-in-case device that can temporarily disable a surprise would-be attacker. And although the possibility of facing such an attack is real, as city-dwelling women especially are very much aware, the threat is not so pressing that in providing these sprays we should throw caution to the wind.

 

[vellnueve]

Clearly, women should kindly ask stalkers or rapists to hold off for 40 days while they get their card. What a moronic writer.

 

[Reptile]

Clearly, women should kindly ask stalkers or rapists to hold off for 40 days while they get their card. What a moronic writer.

But John Rosenthal, cofounder of Stop Handgun Violence, said he opposes the bill.

"If it's not broken, why fix it?" he asked. "I'm not seeing a lot of people having major problems getting pepper spray with FID cards."

With a $25 licensing fee, which does not need to be renewed, the process is "not cumbersome," Rosenthal said.

Rather than discount the law because no other state requires an FID card for defense sprays, Rosenthal said other states should consider following suit.

"We also have the second lowest firearm fatality (rate) in the nation after Hawaii," Rosenthal said, referring to Massachusetts' statistics. "We do a lot of things right. We're the model for the nation, we're the good news."




What BS. Like Vellnueve said. Many women who buy Mace needed it yesterday. All the trouble they have to go through makes them more likely to get attacked again. Clearly, Massachusetts does not believe in "self-help".

 

[terraformer]

It drives me nuts when he says those stats. Those stats include suicides and when you have the licensing we have, most suicides are not done with a gun but are done with "poisons" or "over dosing" (the CDC has specific definitions). Our suicide rate is higher than all the states around us, but still lower than the average rest of the country. But when you remove gun suicides from his stats, all of a sudden hawaii and MA don't look so hot any longer. He's a filthy liar. He would hand in his beloved photo op piece (his shotgun) in a heartbeat.