Come February 25th, the much talked about pepper spray legislation will be taken before Cabinet.
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, in an interview on television station WESN, said that he has already drafted the law and the legislation will involve an amendment to the Firearms Act, as the “Pepper spray is a noxious substance, which is a prohibited weapon, a prohibited weapon is therefore a firearm.”
He said a permit will be needed for anyone to use pepper spray.
But Al-Rawi noted that other things apart from getting a permit must happen before the use of pepper spray is approved.
He said “You want to criminalise people that use pepper spray in the commission of an offence. You have to look at the Offences Against the Persons Act, the Childrens Act, other pieces of our law, law enforcement protection of officers.”
He said the use of pepper spray must also be heavily criminalised “if you’re going to use it against a law enforcement officer.”
The AG said even though the spotlight is on violence against women, “There are men that are the subject of violence, and the issue of how you manage it for children is equally important. Our girls at 15, at 16 deserve a fighting chance as much as a 25-year-old woman or a young man.”
He said “I want to remind you, any and everybody can hold a knife in their hand. Few people can use it. Your first defence is your sense of awareness.”
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