Rejected petition: Review the 'Firearms Act 1968' to remove pepper spay as a prohibited weapon.
Rejected on
Declassify pepper spray as a prohibited weapon in order for it to be used for self-defence only.
• Restrict sales to over-18s
• Impose tough penalties for misuse
• Provide clear guidelines/ training on lawful self-defence
• Introduce a licence in order to buy it (so it's trackable)
Violence against is a national emergency in England and Wales. And yet women and girls do not have access to adequate self-defence tools in the UK. As pepper spray is illegal they live in fear if they are attacked (as 1 in 3 women are) and defend themselves it is either not enough; or they may be prosecuted for using something as effective as pepper spray. Many European countries allow for the use of pepper spray (many need permits or have age restrictions) for self-defence.
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.
Your petition appears to be in essence a duplicate of one which is already open, which you may wish to sign:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/767270
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.