Carry your self defense ‘kit’ wherever you go.

Your ‘kit’ is what you need in case of emergency. It’s what you should have with you whenever you leave your house or apartment. In the Marines, our ‘kit’ was filled with basic survival and self defense items.

For practical self defense, carrying canteens of water and extra ammunition may not be appropriate but carrying essential elements for your protection certainly is.

Things to include, at a minimum:

• Your ID (Drivers License, Campus ID, etc)
• Cell phone (Pre-programmed with emergency numbers (security, police, RA, fire and ICE listing, person to call ‘in case of emergency’)
• Weapon (pepper spray, mace or other personal defense spray)

If you live or work on a campus, familiarize yourself with your campus safety practices and follow them.

Some weapons are obvious; pepper spray, stun guns, knives and hand guns.

One thing to remember about all weapons is they’re unbiased.  They can hurt you, not just your assailant, if used improperly.

As with any type of weapon, spend a little extra time and money to get the appropriate training.

From first hand experience, most people have really bad gun handling practices.  In the Marines I received hundreds of hours of training just on ‘safe handling procedures’ alone, so, can attest to the importance of proper training.

It’s important and can be the difference between life and death (yours or someone you love).

If you do purchase something that is legally classified a “weapon” (hand gun, pepper spray, stun gun, etc), make sure you verify it’s legal for you to carry it.