Assault occurs every 10 seconds. Robbery occurs every 46 seconds. 1 in 5 families will be a victom of crime each year. 4.5 million dog attacks occur each year. There are many reasons that you should carry a personal defense weapon rather than a conventional weapon.
Pepper spray is a non-lethal weapon.
Also, because it is non-lethal, you will be less likely to wait until the situation is beyond critical to use it. This also lessens the chance of the weapon being taken away and used against you. Another reason to use pepper spray instead of conventional weapons is that the pattern is a very wide 'shotgun' pattern so it is not necessary for a great amount of training and practice to be accurate and effective with its use.