Taser for sale

I'm definitely what you would call an electronic gadget guy. I'm sitting in front of my Mac at work which is next to my pager, my RAZR cell phone, and my Palm PDA. Are you sickened yet? Plus, you know the car that I drive (scroll below).

I'm always excited this time of year because it's the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It's a gadget guy's paradise. Did you know that there's a huge 63 inch plasma TV that they're marketing out there? That is, if you're into that sort of thing.

Something that did catch my eye was in today's USA Today. Apparently, there is going to be a new version of the controversial taser stun gun that's going to be put on sale (pictured above).

What's new about this? Well, this is a smaller version that previous that can be stored in a purse or a backpack. Curious yet? The older model is big and bulky and cost about $1000. This newer version is coming in at a cool $300.

Taser [International] says the C2, less powerful than the police version, is designed to stun for 30 seconds, providing enough time for the shooter to flee from danger.

"It's a terrible idea. It's a dangerous idea," says Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA, which says there have been 200 Taser-related deaths. "I can't think of any reason you would want these out in public."

Daniel Garza, 42, was glad he bought the civilian Taser when a man climbed in the back seat of his truck Dec. 17 at a Yuba City, Calif., Wal-Mart. Garza zapped the intruder, who was arrested. "The Taser did the job," Garza says.

Although I do not own a gun myself, I definitely support the second amendment to bear arms. However, should the public have easier access to a weapon like this? I would probably have to say no. I think that only law enforcement authorities should have access to taser like weapons.

This is probably a bad analogy, but I think about the public's access to medications. There's a certain group of meds that people should have access to (called over the counter meds). Then, there's the group of meds that should be prescription only and managed by those "medical professionals" (I think that's the politically correct term) who have prescriptive authority.

I could be wrong on the taser thing and on the prescription medicine thing. But, I know you'll let me know where I'm going wrong on this. Would you buy one of these things? What if your neighbor bought one of these?