Laws
Pepper Spray LawIn general, pepper spray is legal and can be carried without permit or legal infraction.
There are some exceptions in certain states.
New York Pepper Spray Law
In New York State, the company selling pepper spray must be intra state licensed firearm dealers or pharmacists
Massachusetts Pepper Spray Law
In the state of Massachusetts the law on pepper spray is as follows: A purchaser needs a Firearms Identification Card (FID) before aquiring pepper spray. The sellers must be local licensed firearm dealers (as is the law in New York).
Michigan Pepper Spray Law
In Michigan: Pepper Spray can be no stronger than a 2% solution. CS is the only Tear Gas allowed. As described in effects of pepper spray, CS is the main ingredient of the solution commonly known as Tear Gas - not pepper spray. No combination of ingredients is allowed by law in Michigan.
Wisconsin Pepper Spray Law
Wisconsin allows only Pepper spray. No Tear Gas, CS, UV Dye or mixed ingredient sprays. Wisconsin law states that OC Pepper Spray can be no stronger than a 10% solution. The can must be between 15-60 grams in weight.
ACLU Position on Pepper Spray
"The ACLU believes that the use of pepper spray as a kind of chemical cattle prod on nonviolent demonstrators resisting arrest constitutes excessive force and violates the Constitution," said Margaret C. Crosby, an ACLU-NC staff attorney who wrote the brief with Police Practices Director John Crew. "Certainly, a jury should be afforded an opportunity to evaluate this new experimental use of a chemical weapon. "
The amicus curiae brief summarizes empirical, scientific and toxicological research on pepper spray. "Scientific literature refutes the repeated depiction, by the trial judge and by Humboldt, that pepper spray is a benign organic substance that causes only transient discomfort," Crosby noted.
"In fact, pepper spray ingredients, alone and in combination with solvents that create the weapon, have a variety of physiological effects. Courts have recognized that pepper spray may be a dangerous chemical weapon, resulting in liability to government or private parties, or incarceration to criminal defendants." The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier this year, in the context of sentencing guidelines for criminal defendants, that pepper spray may constitute a dangerous weapon. Federal sentencing guidelines define a dangerous weapon as "capable of inflicting death or serious bodily injury," causing "extreme physical pain or the protracted impairment of a function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty; requiring medical interventions such as surgery, hospitalization or physical rehabilitation."
The ACLU amicus brief argues that the use of pepper spray on environmental demonstrators requires a jury evaluation under established constitutional standards. The single most important consideration in assessing the reasonableness of the use of force is whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others. Crosby noted, "the Humboldt authorities arrested peaceful demonstrators, seated, linked and locked into a metal device. They were dramatizing their commitment to protecting old-growth redwood trees. They were not menacing anyone."
In many states the laws of minimum pepper spray product requirements are as follows:
* Pepper spray must have a weight of not less than 15 grams (approximately a half ounce) nor more than 60 grams (which is approximately two ounces).
* Have a minimum effective range of six feet and a maximum effective range of 20 feet;
* Look like a conventional aerosol canister and not be made to appear like another product (an OC spray made to look like a pen for example);
* Have a label which includes the amount of OC, its range, expiration date, ingredients, first aid information and a reminder that the product can't be used by people under 18.
* Have a tamperproof package and a mechanism to prevent an inadvertent discharge; and
* Include all of the label information on the outside package, along with a phone number that consumers can use to contact the manufacturer for further information.
Penalty For Pepper Spray Misuse
In most states, it is a class-A misdemeanor to use pepper spray illegally. In some states, class A misdemeanor brings a maximum penalty of $10,000 or 9 months in jail or both of these.
In most states it is a class-E felony to use or threaten to use OC or pepper spray to carry-out a crime. In most states, a class-E felony carries a maximum penalty of $10,000 or 2 years in prison or both of these.
In most states, it is a class-D felony to use OC or pepper spray against a law enforcement officer. A class-D felony brings a potential maximum penalty of $10,000 or 5 years in prison or both of these.
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