02 Oct Are Tasers Legal in Alberta
I like to take long walks at night. Although I live in a safe place, I would still like to be able to wear something for my protection in case a dog tries to attack me or something similar. What can I wear legally? For your information, I am 16 years old and I am in Quebec. According to the Penal Code, a firearm is considered anything that can or is intended to be used to injure, kill or even intimidate someone, but it can mean just about anything, so really it all depends on your intentions. According to this logic, if you carry a pencil with the intention of attracting someone`s attention with it, you may get into trouble. Similarly, if you bring a knife into a park to cut a watermelon, that`s fine, but carrying a knife while walking down a dark street in the middle of the night in case you`re not sure is where you can get in trouble. Pepper spray and taser are no different; You can use them to protect yourself from a wild animal if necessary, but it`s illegal if you use them against someone who intends to cause bodily harm. It makes no sense, and these laws need to be reviewed so that women can defend themselves without getting into legal trouble. “Something like that is not very common at all,” said Constable Wendy Drummond. “[A stun gun is] a prohibited weapon; It is illegal to import them.
But obviously, there are ways to achieve this. Each country has its own rules governing self-defense weapons. Pepper spray, for example, is legal in some countries, but not in Canada, because people can use it as an offensive weapon – to injure, frighten or neutralize others – rather than as a defensive weapon. Any rifle or shotgun that is neither restricted nor prohibited falls into this category. Long guns are generally considered legal self-defence weapons in Canada, but there are several exceptions. In the United States, Tasers are not considered firearms and are legal for civilian use in most states. Some cities, counties, and states restrict – or prohibit – their use by people who are not police officers. The Company does not ship its product outside the United States unless the person placing the order has a valid import/export permit. Before serving a prison sentence, anyone charged with a firearms offence in Canada must go through the justice system. Under the Canadian Criminal Code, possession charges carry a maximum penalty of five years.
According to RCMP Corporal Greg Gillis, who teaches police how to use tasers, only one company is allowed to import them into Canada under a specific permit. You can only sell the devices to law enforcement. In addition, as with a firearm, each Taser is recorded and tracked. Women are at a higher risk of being attacked and should be able to protect themselves, but by criminalizing self-defense weapons, they have few opportunities to do so. Self-defense weapons should be legalized so that we can protect ourselves or at least feel safe when we return home late at night. You may be wondering, if they are allowed in the United States, are Tasers legal in Canada? According to Statistics Canada, a higher risk of sexual assault is observed among young, single, Indigenous, LGBTQ+ or less mentally healthy women. These are the people who are at a disadvantage because self-defense weapons are illegal. You can`t expect everyone to know or even defend themselves when they find themselves in a dangerous situation, so criminalizing anything that can be used as a self-defense weapon puts many women – or anyone who has reasons for not feeling safe – at risk. The only thing that can be used in a dangerous situation is a flughorn or noise machine, but it does very little in terms of defense or even attack, and if you burst the attacker`s eardrum with the flughorn, you can get into big trouble.
It is difficult to say who is really protected by these laws. Under the Canada Firearms Act, pepper spray is an illegal weapon. This means that any production, sale or use of products similar to pepper spray is a criminal offence. Just a few months ago, I was attacked with a knife. While it was a heartbreaking experience after going through everything, I realized how lucky I was to have been attacked. If it was someone who wanted to cause me harm physically, he could have easily done so; I had nothing to protect myself, and there was nothing I could have done or said to defend myself if the situation had gone that way. I realized that I was and still am vulnerable, and that I had to do something about it. I`ve thought about taking self-defense or kickboxing classes, but either they`re too expensive, or far away, or I just don`t have time for it. Instead, I tried to buy self-defense weapons as a last resort, but unfortunately, all weapons used for self-defense – pepper spray, club, taser, etc. – are currently illegal in Canada. Me and many women who want something to defend themselves (or even just have a little rest) have very few options. There is no law prohibiting the carrying of knives with sheaths, knives that require the opening of both hands, fixed-blade knives and certain folding knives that are not prohibited, provided that they are not intended for self-defense.
Double-edged knives are among the legal knives in Canada. Read on to find out which self-defence weapons are legal in Canada. Laws about what counts as a weapon are confusing, sometimes even contradictory. In an interview with The Coast, Halifax Regional Police spokesman Pierre Bourdages said: “You have the right to defend yourself, but you cannot carry pepper spray, knives or weapons for that purpose. If your intention to carry these weapons is to defend yourself or hurt someone, you could be accused of carrying a hidden weapon. In other words, you can defend yourself, but you can`t use anything to help you defend yourself. If it were a case where a woman is attacked by someone taller and stronger than herself, a defensive weapon might be the only thing that would help, but because of the laws surrounding self-defense weapons, she might get into trouble because she is carrying such an object in the first place.