Word: tasers
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...take out a target with pinpoint accuracy. Or picture this: a flashlight-size device, currently in development at HSV Technologies in San Diego, that transmits a powerful electric current along a beam of ultraviolet light. Shine that light on a human target, and you have a wireless taser that can paralyze targets as far away...
...stun gun, the Advanced Taser M-18L, looks like a pistol. But instead of firing bullets, it shoots tethered darts that hook into the skin or clothes. Victims typically scream in pain and writhe on the floor until the shock subsides--usually within a minute. Heavy-duty tasers are already used by more than 1,000 police departments in the U.S.; United Airlines just bought 1,300. And now Taser, sensing a new market opportunity in post-Sept. 11 anxiety, is launching its first models aimed at ordinary citizens. Prices start...
...Taser enthusiasts argue that even if a few dozen deaths could be attributed to the stun gun, that's a tiny fraction of the 30,000 or so Americans who die from gunshot wounds each year. "What our weapon does is highly unpleasant," concedes Taser CEO Rick Smith, "but it can save lives...
Gerald Le Melle, deputy executive director of Amnesty USA, doesn't buy it. "There is a fine line between protection and torture," he says. He complains that of the 43 states where it is legal to buy a stun gun, none requires a background check. Taser requires that buyers be 18 or older, but Florida is the only state that enforces the rule...
...Jeremy Friedbaum, who won a free taser for his momentary pain in Los Vegas, has few qualms about his new weapon. "I was really happy to bring this home to my family," says the father of four children, ages two to 12. He plans to teach his older kids...