Pepper Spray and Mace are completely ILLEGAL in Ireland to carry or use and comes with a pretty hefty sentence if you break this law.

Pepper spray is considered a firearm and is banned under the 1925 Firearms Act which prohibits the manufacture, possession or sale of “weapons discharging noxious liquids”.

To me and so many this is a travesty. HOW are women suppose to PROTECT themselves? Especially in a country with so many rural areas, walks and runs? Are we never to leave the house again? Even if one is adept at self defence, this might not help if the attacker is twice her size. The law does not need to permit possession of a full canister of Mace, that may be abused among gangs etc. All I’M asking for is something as simple as carrying a small vile with a single shot of pepper spray in it; which could and would save so many lives.

How many women have been attacked, beaten, murdered or raped in Ireland? How many of these women could have been saved with something so simple and accessible in so many other parts of the world? We are in 2022 and have so many resources available to us, yet here in Ireland we ARE NOT permitted to use them!  These women are someone’s daughters, mothers, sisters, nieces, aunties. These women could one day be your baby girl…my baby girl who’s only 2, but one day I’ll have to let her venture out on her own, worried, petrified that one day I might get the same phone call that Ashling Murphys mother received on Wednesday evening.

Let’s not continue to keep our mouths shut, heads down. Lets stick up for our rights.  I was taught to open my mouth, stick up for myself and never settle for anything but the best outcome. Lets stick our heads up and out and make a change. It’s about time we all get together and fight for the best outcome for the women in Ireland. If nothing changes, then it could be YOU who has to identify the beaten to death body of your loved one. Ashling Murphys life had just started and it was ripped away in a instant. I can only imagine what this bright teacher and amazing musician’s last thoughts were, I can’t imagine they were anything any of us ever want to bear thinking about. Don’t let this happen again. PLEASE SIGN and SHARE to LEGALISE the possession and USE of PEPPER-SPRAY  in Ireland!! 
Ashling Murphy shouldn’t die in vain. I WILL NOT STOP until I have the 100,000 SIGNATURES to bring this in front of PARLIAMENT! Thank you for you help 

REMEMBER your SIGNATURE will not count or register until you confirm it in the EMAIL change.org sends to you. Thanks again