Mace and Tasers have their place. I’m not denying that. The point of my rant was in regards to a specific scenario (lone female carrying potentially carrying tens of thousands in cash with multiple attackers) and what I felt were systematic issues with the design of the device in a general sense.

Any reasonable person would think of a dozen scenarios were mace or tasers would be preferably to other weapons. These were not my focus.

““some kind of micro-ID thingies that can be used to identify a perp.”
- incorrect. This is not to identify a perp, it’s to indentify the user of the taser. Small paper tags are dispersed from the taser to identify the serial number of the taser and it’s registered owner”

It can supposed be used for identification in either direction. That’s the entire point of microstamped ammo. The tags are just an ID number. They can be used to identify the owner, but if found on a suspect, well, that’s pretty identifying.

““you CANNOT safely test the device unless you’re handy with electricity and know how to safely ground something conductive”
- incorrect. I have tested my taser many times. You can use a conductive target from Taser International or just fire it into a sturdy object. The statement to ‘safely ground’ makes no sense. There is nothing to ground, current flows between the two wires, not to ground. That’s the way a taser works.”

Yes, they have a test target they market to LE users. They also market training carts to LE users. They do not mention conductive targets whatsoever in their C2 marketing material. AFAIK, they also do not make practice carts for C2 users. Taser does not recommend training/practice whatsoever in their C2 marketing material. Their sole guidance on the matter is “Fire at bad guy, drop, run”.

““There is no way to turn off the juice, so it is risky to test the Taser on anything that is conductive and improperly grounded.”
- you can turn off the taser at any time. This is clearly outlined in the instruction manual.”

Again, sole OEM guidance is “Fire, drop, run”. This was moreso another jab at the lack of C2 training cartridges. I know you’re a fan of the C2, but even you would probably admit that’s a thorough shortcoming the weapon.

““A weapon that needs permission before usage. I find the concept horrifying, personally, but I guess certain folks would love it.”
- are you for or against screening the buyers? Why is this horrifying?”

Screening? Somewhat and weakly for. I have no problems with FFL’s running NICS checks. However, I fully support person to person sales not requiring a FFL transfer. My state is somewhat decent on this subject. Rifles and shotguns don’t require transfer by FFL or background check if done by individuals.

Permanent records of ownership? Absolutely against. I find it horrifying and dangerous. My state makes permanent registration of firearms illegal. Any government official retaining firearm information past the retention period is subject to arrest. It should warrant a felony and bar from any government employment, but one step at a time. On a fed level, NICS has a legal retention period of 90 days. Again, there should be stronger provisions for the legal enforcement of this retention period.

In this case, you have a private company permanently retaining significant amounts of personal information regarding weapons. That’s dangerous. Serial numbers, name, driver’s license, social, etc. Plus, they probably retain the results of any background checks they conduct. That’s a lot of vuluable information. Because they are not part of NICS, you are NOT subject to the same protections under the law. Gods alone know what they do with the information, or could do in the future. They could potentially hand it out to anyone who asks, or just sell the information wholesale. They are legally not restricted from doing so. They merely promise on their site to make a best effort not to lose your information to unauthorized parties, but specifically do not guarantee it.

If you want to think Taser would never do so, ok, fine. Their sales tank (or whatnot) and get bought out by someone else who boosts profit by selling the customer information. Or a sysadmin with access to the backup tape sells it. Or an evil haX0r swipes the information illegally and posts it on the Internet.

Again, I consider the Taser to be a product that is too dangerous to be relied on. I mean this opinion SOLELY FOR MYSELF (and person that prompted this whole rant). Perhaps I should have stuck that rant disclaimer on the end. If you wish so, I will do so.

You did your research, and probably know significantly more about it than myself. I got my information from their website, marketing material and what the sales folk said. Not the most reliable sources. If you do your research and you believe it’s worth carrying for protection, more power to you. It’s your life, and only you are responsible for it. I believe every person should carry whatever they please for self defense. A taser, a knife, a rock, a smiley, a gun, an SBR, whatever. Good luck, and hopefully you never have to find out how efficient one form of carry is.

Your article has multiple inaccuracies. I do not work for Taser International. I am an electrical engineering manager, and carry the Taser C2 taser after 15 years of licensed handgun carry to protect my family and myself. I gave this decision a lot of thought and weighed the pros and cons of these two defensive tools. I choose a taser.

The taser has been proven to be effective in stopping an assailant in their tracks.

As an engineer I could get into details of Neuro Muscular Incapacitation to temporarily override the command and control systems of the body to impair muscular control and pulse shaped charges, etc. But all one needs to do is see the device in action on the many videos of the taser in action on the internet. In the vast majority of cases, the individual ‘tased’ has no post injury. It’s an amazing technology that has saved countless lives.

Consider the use of tasers by law enforcement. Before tasers, a firearm or baton may have been deployed to stop a violent subject- with far more bodily injury to the person being stopped. However, the taser immediately stops the threat, in some cases, more effectively than a firearm. Further, there is no risk of striking a bystander as in the caser of a firearm if the officer misses or a bullet passes through a subject or if. A firearm has to be used in some cases, but if you compare a taser to a firearm or baton, no one would argue the taser is a safer way to stop a threat, to both the assailant and others in the vicinity.

We are all aware of cases where law enforcement abuses taser use and deploys the device when other forms of restraint could be used. As a result of either poor training or an ‘over jealous cop’, this is wrong. Minimal force (without additional risk to the officer) should always be used to subdue a subject. While cases of abuse make headlines, you rarely see statistics on how many lives have been saved by tasers by providing the officer with a non-lethal choice of stopping a subject.

Back to my decision and the pros and cons of using a taser for protection. As I mentioned this was well thought out and here a some reasons behind my decision to carry a taser. Many are the same as with law enforcement, but I also like that the use of a taser carries less civil liability as I am not bonded as law enforcement is. Further, taser carry is allowed by almost all states, while firearm carry falls under many varying laws of where you can carry the weapon.

Do I still carry of firearm in some situations? Yes. Tasers have their limitations such as the inability to stop multiple assailants and to fire at a distance of more than 15 feet. However, that is a tradeoff with those that want to defend themselves without carrying a firearm. I high quality pepper “OC” spray is also a good choice, but nothing is going to immobilize an attacker as a properly used taser.

As for your article, I have quoted statements you made, and responded. I hope your readers will review these responses to get a more accurate story of tasers and their use.

“some kind of micro-ID thingies that can be used to identify a perp.”
- incorrect. This is not to identify a perp, it’s to indentify the user of the taser. Small paper tags are dispersed from the taser to identify the serial number of the taser and it’s registered owner”

“you CANNOT safely test the device unless you’re handy with electricity and know how to safely ground something conductive”
- incorrect. I have tested my taser many times. You can use a conductive target from Taser International or just fire it into a sturdy object. The statement to ‘safely ground’ makes no sense. There is nothing to ground, current flows between the two wires, not to ground. That’s the way a taser works.

“There is no way to turn off the juice, so it is risky to test the Taser on anything that is conductive and improperly grounded.”
- you can turn off the taser at any time. This is clearly outlined in the instruction manual.

“A weapon that needs permission before usage. I find the concept horrifying, personally, but I guess certain folks would love it.”
- are you for or against screening the buyers? Why is this horrifying?

“If you do not pass, the Taser C2 is permanently disabled”
- this product is never permanently disabled. The webpage you referenced says nothing about disabling the device. The device comes disabled and needs to be activated after the buyer is screened.

“any device that can be remotely turned on can be remotely turned off……There’s plenty of potential possibilities for someone to over-the-air disable your Taser”
- this makes no sense. When it’s activated it stays activated. It’s not clear what you mean by ‘remotely turned off” The device has no radio receive in it. Are you suggesting Taser International has hidden radio receivers in their devices?

I used to work at a small jewelry manufacturer. For insurance purposes they had an “interlock”, a setup with a small “airlock” and two doors of which only one could be opened at a time. The beauty of this was the small bulletproof window with a pass-through drawer mounted next to the interior door. In a sheetrock wall.

Brick is your friend. Even that fake rock that’s an inch or two deep isn’t bad. Still, taking some level of precaution is better than none. If nothing else, for insurance purposes.