Taser sales to public proceed as ban stalls (Tennessee)

[NashVegas]

A marketing push to sell Taser stun guns to civilians will go unchecked in Tennessee, after a proposal to keep the devices out of the hands of citizens stalled in the state legislature this month.

Sales of Taser International's X26c model, which is similar to the Tasers used by many police agencies, began nearly two years ago but have been pushed aggressively by the manufacturer in recent months.

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The sheriff's group asked lawmakers to outlaw Taser use by civilians. Unlike firearms, Shepardsaid, there is no requirement that people receive training when purchasing the $999 weapons.

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In Nashville, Metro police banned the use of Tasers by rank-and-file officers after two in-custody deaths of suspects who used drugs. The second fatality occurred months after Taser International sent the warning letter to police departments including Nashville's.

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060523/NEWS03/605230354


Oh. Yee fucking haa.

[MikeNearMcChord]

1. Put it this way,

if some idiot misuses a taser on another John Q. Then John Q. should sue the living you know what on him, and if John Q dies, let the idiot taser owner, spend 20 years picking up soap for Bubba.

[MemphisTiger]

2. Tasers are a cruel punishment, they basically cook the recipient

also the person using the taser has to get too close to use it. It's just not a smart idea for self defense. I heard a cop talk about how useless these things are and the results when a person using it goes to far with it. It's not pretty. There are some new mace like products that are good and you can hit your attacker from 25 feet away and not cook his insided.

[ConcernedCanuk]

3. Reading the article helps

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From the posted article:

"Police models can fire probes more than 20 feet, but the maximum range for the civilian models is about 15 feet."

Fifteen feet is MORE than enough I'd say

I probably wouldn't feel endangered until a person was within 5 feet or so

And most of the fatalities are when the victim gets repeated jolts at a very close distance

I have no intention of getting one, but if I did, I'd feel pretty confident that one jolt from about ten feet away would make the "attacker" reconsider any further advance.

Tasers are like any other defence mechanism.

Of course they will be extremely dangerous when abused.

Just my Canuk Thoughts . . .

[NashVegas]

4. My Thoughts

I'm less worried about Johnny Yayhoo getting a taser than I am the thugs. Someone holding a gun risks making a LOT of noise if they actually fire it. How much noise does a Taser make?

[ConcernedCanuk]

5. "How much noise does a Taser make?" hmmm - good point

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I'll admit I didn't consider that a taser is basically noiseless

And also wasn't considering it in the hands of the "bad guys"

hmmm again