November 29, 2023
I don’t know how Google’s algorithm decided to put a Byrna ad on my screen, but there you have it. I’d never heard of Byrna before, but I have to confess that I’m intrigued by the concept.
Byrna sells a panoply of “non-lethal guns.” They are not technically firearms, since they use compressed CO2 to shoot projectiles filled with pepper spray, which then burst on impact with the target (or, if you prefer, projectiles that cause “excruciating” (though not permanent) physical pain). And they’re not lethal, though they will, in Byrna’s words, “incapacitate” someone for up to thirty minutes.
I have never owned a firearm, and it’s likely I never will, and I don’t plan on purchasing a Byrna anytime soon, but I actually kind of like the idea of replacing firearms with these weapons. For one, more than half of all gun-related deaths in this country are the result of suicide, and no one is going to kill themselves with a Byrna. Moreover, the deaths from a lot of “self-defense” shootings result because guns are so powerful (and ammunition more lethal) that it’s getting harder and harder to shoot someone without inflicting mortal wounds. And a lot of times a shooting in “self-defense” isn’t justifiable in the first place, and they are frequently the result of human error of one kind or another; the consequences of such a mistake would be far less catastrophic (for everyone involved) if it’s a Byrna and not a firearm that’s the weapon being used.