Taser! For the public!

[barbara465 2]

Having sat in on a trial of a police office who had tasered a 59 year old woman I have a different perspective. I sat through 4 days of testimony about the taser, the training involved, how the police taser each other so they know the effects, etc. etc. etc. They were trying to prove that the tasers are safe and that the police get plenty of training so they will do no harm.

This case was difficult. I thought the police officer used excessive force. The 59 year old woman suffered from chronic fatigue and fibrolmalgia. They made her sound like she was crazy. Since I have both of these illnesses I knew what she was saying could be true. You can be well one minute and down the next.

Anyway it was a 6 person jury. The first count was 3 guilty, 3 not. The 3 not quickly attacked the 3 that thought he had used too much force. Iwas on the guilty side. Anyway, one went to the not guilty side because she wanted to get out of there. The other juror and I fought strong for an entire day. It was going to be a hung jury. I finally talked to the other juror and we agreed to vote with the not guilty. My only condition was I wanted my say after the vote.

The next day I read in the paper where this same police officer had been charged with a group of police officers in excessive force using a taser that resulted in death. The man was a mental patient.

I live with that guilt everyday. I should never have compromised. Tasers are bad and in Texas they are lethal. They are used more and more here by police that exert excessive force. The not guilty jurors couldn't believe that a police officer could use bad judgment. It is not one of my fondest moments.

I say NO to tasers in the hands of the public and police.

[Wheetsin 714]

On a more serious side, I've been tasered. (As part of a law enforcement explorer program I was part of back in highschool). Many years ago, but the memory of the pain is crystal clear. My father has also been tasered. He's an assistant warden, and whenever the prison personnel go through their annual whatever it is they go through, they get tasered, pepper sprayed, etc. Theory behind it is that it's supposed to better enable them to work through it because they'll know what's going on, should an inmate ever get ahold of the "weapons" (yes, they're classified as weapons) and strike back.

It's not fun. And unlike TV, you don't just get up & brush it off afterwards. It took me 2 or 3 days to no longer feel the effects of it. And if anyone ever wrongfully tasered me, as much as I'm anti-lawsuit-at-the-jump-of-a-gun, you can betcherass my first call would be to an attorney.

[YeeHaw 0]

Well, I carry a gun and pepper spray with me at all times. I have since I was 16. I know that there are many women that are scared of guns and do not carry them. So, maybe a taser would be good for them.

On a very important note : There are many people that get worked up and are "trigger happy" as I call them. This is not good. I believe that people need to be trained to use defense weapons. Whether it is a gun, taser, knife, pepper spray, or whatever. It is very important to know when, where and how to use it. It could save your life but it could also end your life if the weapon gets into your attackers hands.

[anonemouse 1]

I know it should be against my liberal beliefs, but I am fully supportive of people carrying guns. Heck, I took a gun safety course as a PE elective in college. My only feeling is that every person that owns a gun and everyone who will be around that gun should be required to take a safety course and follow certain requirements, such as keeping the gun in a locked gun cabinet or have a trigger lock on it and keep it unloaded and separate from bullets.

[Wheetsin 714]

Oooh, Jack, like a shock band instead of a shock collar...

[wootsie73 0]

I know it should be against my liberal beliefs, but I am fully supportive of people carrying guns. Heck, I took a gun safety course as a PE elective in college. My only feeling is that every person that owns a gun and everyone who will be around that gun should be required to take a safety course and follow certain requirements, such as keeping the gun in a locked gun cabinet or have a trigger lock on it and keep it unloaded and separate from bullets.

Ok Laurend,

I have a couple of questions for you. If you have a gun and have been trained to use it, why on earth would you keep it in a locked gun cabinet or have a trigger lock on it and keep the bullets separate, especially if it's a hand gun? If you own the gun for protection of yourself, your family, and property, how on earth do you think you could unlock the gun cabinet, run to another place and find the bullets, load the gun, then have time to shot an intruder before you were either killed or severly injured by the intruder? If small children are in the home, I believe the guns should be kept out of their reach with the safety on, but for someone who lives with only adults, I believe they should have instant access to the gun in case they actually need to use it. I also believe children should be taught gun safety, especially when guns are in the home.

The school shootings in the past few years have really brought this subject to the forefront, but I believe a large part of the problem is lack of disipline by parents, plus lack of teaching on the part of the parents. The teens who killed so many at Columbine had the weapons in one of their bedroomsand in the basement of the house! I'm sorry, but I believe a parent should be more aware of their childrens activities than that. I grew up in a house with guns and I knew not to touch them, or I would get my butt beat severely. I knew where every gun was, but I was disiplined well enough by my parents to know the consequences of that action and how severe it would be. Today's kids don't get that.

[anonemouse 1]

If you have a gun and have been trained to use it, why on earth would you keep it in a locked gun cabinet or have a trigger lock on it and keep the bullets separate, especially if it's a hand gun?

Well, I think it is common sense. I don't want someone getting their hands on it. What if someone breaks into your house when you aren't there? If you don't have it locked up or with a trigger guard on it, you have just put a dangerous weapon onto the streets. Another reason is what if your kids have a friend over? Even the best behaved and disciplined child occasionally breaks the rules. What if their friend finds it and starts playing with it? I know I don't want to be responsible for a child accidentally killing himself or his friend.

I honestly don't understand people who aren't willing to take reasonable action to prevent an accidental shooting. Either keep your guns locked up or keep a trigger lock on it if it is kept loaded.

[wootsie73 0]

I totally understand what you are trying to say, but I still say if I owned a gun, which I don't by the way, I would want it ready to go if I need it. I don't have small children in my house, so it's not something I have to worry about. However, I grew up with guns in the house. My brother and I knew where they were, but our friends sure didn't. We both knew better than to touch them or even let anyone know that we knew where they were. I understand that there are accidental shootings everyday, but they aren't by people who are trained in gun safety and have their guns put away to where children can not get them. I guess my point is that if you have a gun for protection, if it's locked up all the time, then it's worth anything for keeping you safe. I know you disagree, but that's how I would have it if I owned a gun. I don't expect everyone else to do what I would do. Neil Entwhistle(sp) went into his in-laws house and took the gun he killed his wife and baby with out of a locked gun case and returned it after the shootings. In other words, guns don't kill people, people do!

[anonemouse 1]

Well, if his in-laws had kept the combination or key to the safe to themselves, he wouldn't have been able to get the gun. The whole point of having a gun safe is that no one but the owners can get into it. If you go around telling everyone what the combination is or where the key is, it defeats the purpose.

If people are really interested in protecting their families, they should invest in an alarm system. Unless you went out and bought a cheap-ass gun, you could have afforded at least a basic alarm system. Even if it is just one of those magnetic things that go off when you move the other half, it would probably be enough to scare off most burglars.

[wootsie73 0]

Now that I have to agree with you on! None of the guns in our house were ever intended for protection, they were hunting rifles for my dad and brother. I heard on the news that he was the only other person besides his FIL that had a key to the cabinet.

[Tired_Old_Man 1]

The FBI says that people are 48 times as likely to shoot a fellow family member than an intruder if they own a gun for protection.:faint:

[Tired_Old_Man 1]

The USA is a much safer place because of guns.:faint:

[Carlene 12]

NORTH BONNEVILLE, Washington - A man who said he used a stun gun on his wife’s 79-year-old grandmother was arrested for investigation of domestic assault.

Aaron de Bruyn, 26, was cited with fourth-degree domestic violence assault Wednesday and released from the Skamania County jail Thursday, Police Chief Calvin Owens said. The grandmother was not injured.

De Bruyn said he was arguing with Rosemary Garlock, who accused him of abusing his 7-month-old son when he swatted the boy’s diapered bottom to stop him from grabbing electrical wires. When she refused to leave, he said he shocked her on her right shoulder as she sat on the living room couch.

“She yelped, because getting Tased hurts,” de Bruyn told The Columbian newspaper.

De Bruyn said he had the 50,000-volt Taser X26 energy weapon to protect against burglars. He said he called authorities, saying he had a relative in his house who would not leave.

De Bruyn’s stun gun was confiscated.

“If I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t,” he said.

[chubbola 0]

A lady in my neighborhood is going back & forth with a guy that she accidentally tasered in the nards.

She claims he was running up behind her on a jogging path at night and it scared her. He claims he was jogging, and was going to pass her. She got all worked up at just the prospect of something happening, turned around, and fried Jim & the twins. The guy is now claiming ED. Who knows.

omg Wheetsin-you crack me up! thanks for the laughs!

~courtney