"It's about sending a message:" The Necessity of Gun Alternatives

"It's about sending a message:" The Necessity of Gun Alternatives

By: Paul Bean - YMCA Arlington- Bishop O’Connell

        

Gun violence is a heavy issue that weighs heavily on the country. In an era of mass shootings and murders fueled by firearms, finding a way to prevent these catastrophic events is essential. The most forward way is to regulate who can and cannot get a gun, and other methods like banning certain gun attachments and specifications are being considered and passed. But what if that is not the only way to prevent these crimes from occurring? What if there was a universal alternative?

         Senate Bill No. 17 attempts to promote pepper spray as such. The bill essentially restricts stores from refusing to sell pepper spray to anyone over the age of eighteen, and no quasi-municipal corporations (think schools) or localities (think local parks) can prevent the use or ban the carry of pepper spray by individuals over eighteen, as long as it is used to defend someone or detain trespassers. The goal of the bill is to make pepper spray, which is seen as an effective non-lethal deterrent, the new equalizer; all adults should have access to pepper spray at all times, which makes each person a larger threat in the eyes of a potential assailant.

         The effectiveness of pepper spray and the logic of the bill cannot be denied, but is this bill necessary? Pepper spray is already legal in Virginia, but many offices still ban pepper spray on their premises. The patron of the bill, Senator Madison Bennett, wants this to change. “With this bill,” she says, “nobody can prevent anyone, eighteen years or older, from using pepper gas, or pepper spray, to defend themselves in a way that will save both the lives of the attacker and defender.” Senator Bennett also makes note of how the proposed bill has no penalties. The bill only prohibits the banning of pepper spray and gives guidelines for use that is not illegal. Any use outside of the given guidelines is covered by other sections of the Code of Virginia.

         There is more to this bill than just what is written, however. Senator Evan Rose, who worked loosely with Senator Bennett while she formed the bill, believes the bill is more ideological than functional. He admits, “pepper spray might not be able to stop a mass shooting, but that’s not the point. It is a lot less radical of an idea than arming teachers, but it’s about sending a message, that we will not stand for this violence anymore.”

         The bill would provide many people with adequate protection against muggings and assaults. The effectiveness of pepper spray is undeniable. However, the bill intends to be the first in a long line of gun alternatives that say to our culture that it is time to stop with the senseless violence. We can defend ourselves, and we must be strong in resisting the pull of fear and terror propagated by the mass of shootings and assault in the world.