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You Have the Right to Bear Arms, Not “Electrical” Arms, Court Declares

posted by janrinok on Tuesday March 10 2015, @11:28AM   
from the founding-fathers-didn't-have-tazers dept.

AnonTechie writes:

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.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/03/you-have-the-right-to-bear-arms-not-electrical-arms-court-declares/

• Re:Tazers are completely ineffective on me. (Score: 1) by Fauxlosopher on Tuesday March 10 2015, @10:40PM

  by Fauxlosopher (4804) on Tuesday March 10 2015, @10:40PM (#155768) Journal

  if those electrodes bury themselves in you like intended then nothing short of pliers are going to get them free of your body

  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.

  Parent