Unpopular opinion: For a private citizen's EDC a can of pepper spray is objectively more useful than a spare magazine.

I was going through some back episodes of the CCWSafe podcast and last month they had Chuck Haggard on to talk about OC/Pepper Spray (Parts 1 and 2).While a good chunk of what was said I would consider common sense they did rephrase a few things which bumped OC from an item I'd sometimes carry to something I'll always carry, even at the expense of a second magazine in an area where I'm often limited to 10 rounds.Most of the hypothetical situations you'll see on this subreddit revolve around an immediately recognizable lethal threat (i.e. a man with a knife or a gun). In less clear cut situations (homeless man screaming in your face about the lizard people) it's nice to have something stronger than harsh language but less lethal than a pistol. You can sometimes have much more flexibility to draw, present, and even deploy OC where a firearm would not be legally or morally defensible.OC also doesn't have as many legal restrictions that a firearm has. If you're going through a dark parking garage it's generally perfectly legal and socially acceptable to have a can of OC out at the equivalent of a low ready where having a gun out would likely get the cops called.Additionally, OC is sometimes permissible in a lot of locations where a firearm isn't. Even in workplaces with high security and a strict no-weapon policy it's not uncommon, especially for women, to have either have a a blind eye turned to pepper spray or few consequences if it gets spotted ('take that to your car' vs 'someone call the police').Finally the consequences of a bad call it are lower than a firearm. If I spray someone in the face with OC that I shouldn't of, the legal consequences are far less than if I brandished a pistol or shot someone that didn't deserve it.I'm curious what everyone else thinks. via /r/CCW https://ift.tt/3dGeKkv