Pepper spray is not a valid self-defense option. If you are in fear of your life (as I believe the situation was in this case, and is for many LGBT people) then you should carry a gun. Change may or may not come, and it is important to be active to try to make it happen, but in the meantime, people need to have adequate and DEPENDABLE self-defense. A gun also won't take half an hour to arrive on the scene. As the poster above mentioned in the case of Jordan Miles: the police will not help you - they're the ones who perpetuate this situation! You couldn't gay-bash if you knew that justice would be carried out!
To get back on topic, pepper spray is not a good option for self-defense. First off, people use it incorrectly. Secondly, the effects are unpredictable - it may cause no more than a momentary irritation. Pepper sprays are also subject to the weather - a strong wind will blow your stream of pepper off-target, possibly even into your own face! In order to use pepper spray, you must be very close to your target, which is a bad situation, as your first rule in a confrontation should be to get as far away from your attacker as possible (this applies even if you have a gun - your primary goal should always be to run away and to avoid combat). Pepper sprays are also bad because they often contain organic components which decay and make the pepper spray totally ineffective. If you have an aversion to potentially taking human life in order to save your own and MUST use a pepper spray, there is no better pepper spray than Fox Labs pepper spray. I highly recommend using Fox Labs 50gram 5% pepper Foam in a fliptop: http://www.foxlabs.com/pepperspray.shtml
Otherwise, please look into Pittsburgh's Pink Pistols: http://www.pinkpistols.org/local/pittsburgh/index.html
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To get back on topic, pepper spray is not a good option for self-defense. First off, people use it incorrectly. Secondly, the effects are unpredictable - it may cause no more than a momentary irritation. Pepper sprays are also subject to the weather - a strong wind will blow your stream of pepper off-target, possibly even into your own face! In order to use pepper spray, you must be very close to your target, which is a bad situation, as your first rule in a confrontation should be to get as far away from your attacker as possible (this applies even if you have a gun - your primary goal should always be to run away and to avoid combat). Pepper sprays are also bad because they often contain organic components which decay and make the pepper spray totally ineffective. If you have an aversion to potentially taking human life in order to save your own and MUST use a pepper spray, there is no better pepper spray than Fox Labs pepper spray. I highly recommend using Fox Labs 50gram 5% pepper Foam in a fliptop: http://www.foxlabs.com/pepperspray.shtml
Otherwise, please look into Pittsburgh's Pink Pistols: http://www.pinkpistols.org/local/pittsburgh/index.html