A complaint we receive a lot is that we must be marketing a product directly to criminals. After all, police are the ones who use handcuffs. Bad guys are desperate, and they work on the fly and use duct tape, zip ties, rope, or cable when they want to restrain someone. We’ll get to that argument in a minute. First, let’s talk about the debate over mere possession of a cuff key.
The intended purpose of an item that can be used to cause harm has been strong on the public’s mind since the tragic shooting in Las Vegas. Many gun-control advocates insist that you can defend yourself in other ways if you are being attacked, and you don’t need a gun. The purpose of a gun is to cause serious bodily harm. The argument is that no one really needs access to such a thing.
This article is not about gun control, but we encounter a similar argument against the possession of handcuff keys by law-abiding citizens. Those who don’t understand why anyone who isn’t a criminal would want to possess a handcuff key argue that it’s pointless, because bad guys don’t use handcuffs. Therefore anyone who wants to own a cuff key must be either a criminal or paranoid.
Interestingly, many of the people making this argument will fight tooth and nail for our second-amendment right to bear arms. The gist of the matter to them is that possessing a firearm is your right as an American citizen, and you do not have to explain your motives. Those motives, of course, are usually sound and legal. Hunting, home defense, sheer enthusiasm. Why not extend the same courtesy to those who want to own a cuff key, an item which is arguably less dangerous than a firearm? Unless you try to swallow the thing and choke to death, a handcuff key can’t hurt you. Even in the hands of the baddest bad guy. It can, however, save your life.
What’s that, you say? Bad guys don’t use handcuffs? We’ll just leave these here…
- In the summer of 2015, a postal employee with a restraining order placed against him by family members was arrested and discovered to be in possession of multiple weapons and handcuffs on federal property.
- In the fall of 2012, an offender with no prior record perpetrated multiple kidnappings and sexual assaults using, among other tools, a sedating drug, zip ties, and handcuffs.
- Earlier this year, three victims were kidnapped and detained in handcuffs in the basement of a man who appeared to be having a “schizophrenic episode”.
- This past spring an older man was handcuffed and physically assaulted in his own home after a group of burglars broke in.
- In 2015 an elderly couple was handcuffed as their home was burglarized of over $10,000 worth of cash and jewelry.
It is insanely easy to buy handcuffs. There are no restrictions on the sale of the very same handcuffs used by our law enforcement officers. You can have a pair shipped to you in just a few clicks. And sure… most of the people buying them are probably law enforcement, security, and perhaps a small subset of lock picking enthusiasts. But there’s another group of people buying handcuffs, and the stories above prove that it’s not just an isolated incident every few years. Bad guys use handcuffs. It’s not just reasonable to carry a handcuff key just in case… it’s the smart choice.
