Wave Maker

Here's something that makes me very nervous.

The taser gun, which has caused the deaths of as many as 105 suspects in confrontations with law enforcement, is now being marketed directly to the public -- and in many states, such as Florida, they can be purchased with no background check or other regulatory hurdle.

Oh I can hear my Second Amendment friends squawking already. You can buy a knife, you can buy a hammer, "when beer bottles are outlawed only outlaws will have beer bottles."

But these weapons do something that others do not. They (at least as intended) immobilize the target, rendering him (or her) helpless. How better to rape, rob or kidnap someone than to gain the easy upper hand for the first moments it takes to subdue them and take them under control. A victim cannot scream, blow a whistle, reach for his/her mace or handgun.

"The Taser stun gun, which looks like a pistol, uses compressed nitrogen to fire electrified barbs connected to the gun by insulated copper wires. Once the probes strike, the target is subjected to a 50,000-volt electric shock that lasts at least five seconds and -- in most cases, although not all -- proves incapacitating." (link)

And you can hit someone with a taser from as far as 25 feet away.

Bruce, Jay G -- give me your best rationale for making a device that delivers fifty-thousand volts of electricity freely available to the general public.

Posted by: Wave Maker / 4:40 PM/ |