There are several ways to keep our homes and families safe from intruders. From fire alarms to baseball bats, or calling 911 for immediate police assistance, but there are those who prefer to use  guns which they see as the ultimate home defense weapons. But not everyone wants to have a gun at home since they are wary that children might find it and accidentally shoot themselves; and in other countries, people can't even own guns.

Now, a Chicago-based startup company wants to raise funds for their invention. Called SALT, it is a non-lethal pneumatic pistol that fires a powder that temporarily incapacitates an intruder. Since it's also non-lethal it's safer to have it home it addresses the problem of deaths and suicides with handguns at home.

SALT can be easily mistaken for a firearm, as its designed to be like  a pistol but fires a non-lethal spherical  round made of oleoresin capsicum and other ingredients. If you think it's like pepper spray, then you probably not far off the mark. The advantage of the SALT over a pepper spray is that you can use the former a longer distances whereas a pepper spray needs to be applied at a close distance to the intruder and poses more risks. The toxin gets released upon impact, bursting into a cloud of powder that can cause an extreme burning sensation and temporarily blinds the target.

What's more, the SALT shooter doesn't have to hit the target to incapacitate the intruder. All he or she has to do is shoot the floor, ceiling, or wall where the attacker is, fire a couple of rounds of the SALT balls and create a cloud that can envelope that intruder. No need for accuracy or precision needed, just fire in the general direction and hope that round hits within the proximity of the target.

According to inventors, here are the key features of SALT:

Non-lethal: The number one design goal was to have SALT stop an intruder without adding danger to one’s family in case of an accidental shooting. SALT rounds explode on impact in a cloud that causes crippling temporarily symptoms, but no one in your family is in lethal danger if an accident happens or if someone in your family unintentionally finds and fires it. SALT rounds are made with a powerful powdered toxin instead of lead bullets.

Effective: SALT’s unique powder round has been designed with maximum stopping power specially formulated for home defense applications. In most instances, the SALT formulation exceeds the potency of that commonly used in military and law enforcement applications. Generally the response time is within seconds and the effects gradually diminish over 15-30 minutes depending on the exposure time and amount. Effects can last up to 50 minutes.

Offense & Defense: The best home invasion is one that never happens. SALT was designed to provide the offense of a firearm, but more importantly, the defensive power to never have to be directly in harm’s way. So if an intruder is kicking down your door, SALT allows you to shoot the area around it, creating a chemical barrier between you and the intruder before the danger is ever a threat.

User Friendly: The people who need protecting the most are often too scared to use the power of a traditional firearm because black powder is an incredibly loud and violent propellant. SALT was designed to be easy to use by replacing the bang of black powder with the power of compressed air. The result is a fear-free user experience, because the best weapon is the one that gets used.

Unique: SALT provides a unique solution between a traditional firearm and short-range pepper spray and tasers. Firearms are not ideal for the home environment, as they kill more people than they save. Tasers and pepper sprays only work when the danger is right in front of the victim. SALT provides a safe, effective and long-range alternative.

The makers of SALT, Adam Kennedy and Andy McIntosh, have put up an Indiegogo page to start taking orders for the SALT, and of course raising money to fund the production of SALT which they see a release in December 2015, if they achieve their funding goals.

UPDATE: The SALT Indiegogo page is inaccessible and is currently "DRAFT" and not viewable by the public.