Lori Fullbright: What Is The Best Weapon For Self-Defense?

I am frequently asked about the best weapon for self-defense, whether people should buy pepper spray, a Taser, or a gun. It’s a hard question to answer.

I do recommend whatever weapon they choose needs to fit with their personality, and they need to be prepared to use it currently and be well trained.

I have some friends who should never own a gun because, in their heart of hearts, they know they could never take a life, even if their own or someone else’s were in danger.

People who choose guns need to make sure they get training and practice regularly.

Hesitation could lead to someone taking the gun away and using it against you.

I interviewed a man once who had his gun taken away. Two men broke into his condo, and he grabbed his gun and fired two shots. His shots missed the target and hit his mattress instead. The men took away his gun, tied him up, beat him, and stabbed him with a machete.

On the flip side, I covered a business owner who shot two armed robbers as they were breaking into his restaurant and holding a gun on his nephew. He heard his nephew yell for help and instinctively grabbed his gun and fired two shots. He hit each robber one time.

I have interviewed several people who’ve been forced to shoot someone in self-defense. They all seem to have one thing in common: they didn’t want to do it, didn’t relish it, but were unapologetic about saving a life, and all said they would do it again, if necessary.

I interviewed a man who was standing in a Tulsa grocery store check-out line when he saw a robbery of the store manager go down right in front of him. In the split second before he decided to pull out his own gun, he quickly thought about the innocent people near the robber who could be hit and who might be behind him and hit by gunfire if the robber returned fire.

He shot the robber, who was arrested and had a string of robberies to his name.

Even though his actions were legally right and he felt morally right, it was still hard for him to talk to about it.

I also covered people who saw people shooting at each other near a convenience store, and even though people in the parking lot had guns, they never drew them because the gunfire wasn’t coming toward or putting innocent people in danger.

Whether you buy pepper spray, purchase a Taser, get a gun, or take a self-defense class, it’s important to have a plan and practice it because being prepared is an important first step in being safe.