Important:

This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament

Rejected petition Legalise the use of pepper spray.

Make pepper spray legal so people are able to defend themselves.

More details

Pepper spray is almost completely banned in the UK. Its ownership, carry and use by common citizens is banned under Section 5(1)(b) of the Firearms Act 1968.

Believe it or not, in the UK pepper spray / CS Gas is considered a firearm and carries the same legal penalties as carrying a gun does! If you are caught with pepper spray or import it, you will face arrest and a subsequent criminal record. You may even face deportation from the UK.

Why should the police be allowed to use it on people but people can't use it for self defence?

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.

You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.

You may wish to sign this petition calling for a similar action: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/577568

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.