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from the founding-fathers-didn't-have-tazers dept.
Massachusetts' ban on the private possession of stun guns—an "electrical weapon" under the statute—does not violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms, the state's top court has ruled.
The decision says ( http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/stungunMA-ruling.pdf ) (PDF) that the US Constitution's framers never envisioned the modern stun-gun device, first patented in 1972. The top court said stun guns are not suitable for military use, and that it did not matter whether state lawmakers have approved the possession of handguns outside the home.The court, ruling in the case of a Massachusetts woman caught with stun gun, said the stun gun is a "thoroughly modern invention" not protected by the Second Amendment, although handguns are protected.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday March 10 2015, @06:53PM
I've been tazed four times, each time by Clark County, Washington Sheriff's Deputies. The last time I grabbed the wires and yanked them free of the tazer.
Note that these were law enforcement tazers, they have a much higher voltage than the public is permitted to use.
The effectiveness of a tazer has a lot to do with that it is frightening. There's not a whole lot that frightens me, with the exception of security cameras everywhere I go.
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(Score: 2) by tibman on Tuesday March 10 2015, @09:59PM
I think you are both right and wrong :) Yes, it is intended to be frightening. But you were only able to pull the wires out after the tazing was done (or it was dialed down). My buddies and i tazed each other while attempting to perform simple duties (like tying a shoe) and it is impossible. I can do it while holding the electrodes in one hand, or if the electrodes did not penetrate my skin. But if those electrodes bury themselves in you like intended then nothing short of pliers are going to get them free of your body. Those wires are over 10 meters long too. So "yanking them free of the tazer" would require pulling several meters of wire towards you. But maybe you are different and can perform actual tasks. That's far better than myself and buddies ever managed.
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(Score: 1) by Fauxlosopher on Tuesday March 10 2015, @10:40PM
Nah. You can watch federal agents taser one man multiple times [youtube.com], and each time he's mobile (which, yes, depends on where the electrodes hit) and has them pulled out almost immediately by himself or by other bystanders. Later photos show him bloody [nydailynews.com] in spots, but pliers are absolutely not required. There have also been several news reports I've read (but cannot remember enough details to quickly find) that give accounts of lone individuals being tasered and pulling out the electrodes themselves.