Okay, I know that tourists to the U.S. cannot buy pistols, and it is questionable about buying long guns, but what is the legal position on buying other self defence items such as O/C spray and tasers/stun guns?

And where would you purchase these? A local gun store?

Just curious.

__________________
View from down under

Yes. And online.

__________________
Jorge

Kiwi...are you guys planning another US trip?

__________________
USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

I imagine you could buy O/C spray in any store in America that carries it. It's not in any way a restricted item AFAIK. Tasers/stun guns might be different.

A local police supply or Army-Navy store is more likely than a typical gun store.

__________________
Come and take it!!

Beware of state and local laws hat may ban such items

I think some municipalities may have ordinances against O/C spray and tasers. I can also state that I have ordered both successfully off Amazon for delivery here in Oregon.

You might be able to order off Amazon for delivery to your hotel.... Arrange in advance with the hotel though. I did that with a hotel in California where my family was staying one summer, though we were there for well over a month.

It’s not that easy... Just because you can buy something doesn’t mean it’s legal to possess.

Our laws are inconsistent and difficult for even US Citizens to follow. Laws concerning pepper spray can vary by State, County and city. New York, New Jersey and I’m sure other States regulate their use, possession and the strength. Stun guns, tasers and knives are regulated even further. About the only defensive tool you can legally carry almost everywhere is a sturdy cane and you better be able to fake a limp!

Study up on the places you plan on visiting. Use common sense and stay away from high crime areas, especially at night. The USA isn’t as dangerous as you may have heard, but there are places I simply wont go; even in the middle of the day. You can buy wasp and hornet spray almost anywhere, but never admit you have it for defensive purposes.

__________________
"I also cook."

My every day cane is a Kabar defensive cane.
Not a good as a .357, but is just might help me get out of a jam.

__________________
Paul
Salome, AZ

Come visit Montana and I will loan you a hand gun. None of the law enforcement here would even think to ask about it.

Tazer.com has some very good information about their product and the legality of possessing them.

This is State specific... State Requirements
| TASER Self-Defense

As an LEO, from a civilized country you would probably generally get professional courtesy for carrying non-lethal weaponry in the US. Not applicable to California, Illinois, Massachusetts or New York.

Houston Rick makes a good point.

Is LEOSA (HR 218) specifically US agencies?
I have never looked at it except through the eyes of active duty or retired US agencies. IS there any language that would bar a non-USA active duty LEO from utilizing LEOSA?

But do look at the TAZER site and then double check the states you want to travel in.

Real simple---visit any hardware store and most any grocery store and buy a few cans of the wasp/bee/yellow jacket spray. Get the type that sprays 10-20 feet and not the foaming type. Perfectly legal anywhere. Big can and probably not easy to conceal, but would certainly be a great defensive item to be used on any hooligan about to do you harm.

__________________
"Tastes just like chicken"

NO

There are MULTIPLE videos all over You Tube debunking the Wasp Spray myth. In a couple of them the person is sprayed right in the face with zero incapacitation.

__________________
Retired Career Security Guard

Ha...I see what you did there: EDC=every day cane

If you’re worried about wasp spray being ineffective, check out this stuff. I used to keep a can of it between the seats of my service van. Chews up gaskets like there’s no tomorrow and guaranteed to stop carjackers, thugs, robbers, and other ne’er do wells in their tracks.

LOCTITE Gasket Paint Stripper, 18 Oz. - 4KM53'|'135544 - Grainger

Edit: found an old can I still had

Attached Images

image.jpg (104.6 KB, 67 views)

__________________
USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

Ummm...
You are being redirected...
Best thing I have found for multi-country, multi-city travel.
And I travel. A lot.

Been planning to come back since our flight lifted off from GBI Houston Nov 14th 2018

Have had two planned trips (three now as September this year is also probably not going ahead) cancelled due to covid. We hope to be back next April for three weeks or so, this time with a tour group.

I have to admit that although we were warned we would be in some pretty high risk areas (Albuquerque, St Louis) we certainly never felt at risk, although I was conscious of being on a higher alert than I would have been here at home and took care on the roads not to offend anyone too.

The question arose during a discussion at work a few days ago so thought I'd ask. I did look on Amazon but saw no prices of options to buy.

__________________
View from down under

Not a Kabar, bu a 36" solid hickory livestock cane from Lehmans does a real good imitation of a defensive cane for about 1/3 rd' the cost of a K bar, or any other *defensive cane*

If you can shove a 400 lb hog around with it, a 180 lb man should pose way less of a problem.

It's the training that counts, not so much the equiptment.

Rob

__________________
Strange days have found us

Does any agency (authority) have the right to question why a person is using a cane? Larry

My emotional support cane. LOL.

Get your primary care Md ( Ortho. even better)to write a script for one, carry mine with script in wallet if going somewhere cant CCW.

Dave—the canes, cudgels and shillelaghs I have seen people carrying on planes never cease to amaze me. I saw a young man like looked like he could start at middle linebacker for any NFL franchise carrying on a Blackthorn Shillelagh he was using occasionally. I suspect someone trained could use one more effectively and quickly than they could draw and fire in close quarters akin to the 21 foot knife rule.

There is nothing like a good piece of hickory!

PALE RIDER AXE HANDLE SCENE - YouTube

__________________
No school like the old school.

The problem with self-defense and tourism in the United States is that the laws/restrictions on what one can legally purchase/carry vary dramatically from State to State, to the point that even for a resident/citizen, self-defense while on a cross-country roadtrip can be a baffling ordeal in which one often has to either map out a path through States with reasonable/lenient restrictions or otherwise not carry anything at all.

So yeah, the first thing that you want to do is look up the laws of whatever State(s) you plan on visiting and make a decision on what to carry based on the local regulations.

If all else fails, take the tire iron out of the trunk of your rental car, place it under your seat, and that way you're still armed yet nobody can say that you broke a law for defending yourself with it. Well, not be unless you're in one of those States in which self-defense itself might as well be illegal, but frankly you don't want to visit one of those miserable crime-riddled States anyway.

Good luck and have a fun/safe trip!

__________________
Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

Kiwi: If you have a year you can order a good work/draft horse harness
hame. These come in brass, steel or stainless steel. These hames have
about an inch socket to fit your, "walking stick". The last couple I bought
cost about $14.00 each at a flea market.
You can fit them with whatever hardwood is available to you and you can
have a nice looking cane for less than $20.00. And who knows it may
come in handy in your senior years.

I recommend a pocket tourist guide. You'll get more use out of it.

I did some checking and I really do believe Kiwi Cop could carry a gun in Montana with no problems. Nothing in our codes prohibits a non US citizen. Only state prohibition is on convicts and as he is over 14 he doesn't need supervised. Plus, Montana law enforcement is prohibited from enforcing federal gun restrictions. There is nothing federal law that states that legal foreign nationals are prohibited persons anyway. In all likely hood they as so used to people having guns they wouldn't even ask. Plus, as he is a LEO, they would show him professional curtsy in addition to the normal. In fact I invite any member from another nation to stop by and I will take you to the range and give you an opportunity to shoot whatever I have.

Dang I found the federal prohibition:
An alien legally in the U.S. is not prohibited from purchasing firearms unless the alien is admitted into the U.S. under a nonimmigrant visa and does not meet one of the exceptions as provided in 18 U.S.C. 922

A nonimmigrant visa (NIV) is issued to a person with permanent residence outside the United States, but wishes to be in the U.S. on a temporary basis for tourism, medical treatment, business, temporary work or study, as examples.

I still don't believe any Montana LEO would bother a fellow LEO from New Zealand.

Have you looked at what passes for a tire iron in most cars now. While it may be better than using your shoe, it would not be all that much improvement.

I would go the cane route if noting else. I pray that America hasn't lost its way so badly that another law officer from a friendly nation would be in anyway harassed over a stick. If so, your state should certainly hang its head in shame.

Let me just say that your unbreakable umbrella, or any umbrella for that matter, is going to look very strange and out of place in West Texas, New Mexico, or Arizona.

I remember when a church in El Paso called a music director from Louisiana. The first Sunday with a few clouds in the sky had him show up with his brolly. It generated much mirth.

Of course, being from Kiwi land, you might be able to pull it off Kiwi Cop.

__________________
Only a cold warrior

I do not believe I have ever seen a man in Montana carrying or using an umbrella, if one was it would surely be for a lady. A hat is about it for rain. Just not done.

On the subject of canes.

I don't have a limp, but I do have vertigo and lack of balance due to hearing loss. I have used a cane for several years now to keep me from bouncing off the walls. The one that I settled on is solid aluminum (aluminium for Kiwi Cop ) from here:

Solid Aluminum Tactical Walking Canes

Even though I am normally armed, it never hurts to have another tool in the defensive toolbox.

__________________
Only a cold warrior

I agree that it isnt done.
I have never used an umbrella apart from holding it over a lady.
But nobody looks twice when I walk around Dresden with it collapsed in my hand.

I looked at the "solid aluminum" cane site. Rather interesting. But: the handles are attached to the shafts by what looks like about a 1/2 inch threaded shank that appears about an inch long.

Now there are many grades of aluminum with varying shear strengths and you'll probably be gripping the shaft if using it as a defensive tool, but that shank looks to be a potential problem.

Only one problem, if you injure the perp and he sues. They do it for anything. Of course if the perp is permanently eliminated his relatives will go after you.But at least you are still around , hopefully.

Nothing more American than a baseball bat, a glove and ball.

Under the ADA I believe the answer is no.

I have been carrying canes on planes way before I had bad knees. Then, when my arthritis got really bad, I was already used to flying with a cane. Now I have new knees and I can always justify a cane!

One funny aside - I have had TSA workers run my cane through the xray but give me a loaner to walk through. I thought that was an interesting touch.

Then there was the time TSA called me back because I left my cane on their machine......sooooo dumb!

__________________
Come and take it!!

This!^^^^

The Great American Pastime! Baseball!

Behind the seat of my truck is a Louisville Slugger baseball bat. I also carry my old fielder's glove and a couple of baseballs, just in case I find a good game wherever I go.

I have never heard of anyone being charged with a weapons violation involving baseball equipment.

I think this must because you are in NZ. From here in Oregon I can access seven pages of pepper spray products on Amazon US. Or, perhaps it is because your default delivery address is NZ.