Taser Parties?

It's a sad day when you've got to learn about these things through the foreign press, especially the BBC. First we had Tupperware parties for the ladies, then assorted other parties and now it looks as if the ladies are being "blessed" with Taser Parties.

In a downtown loft apartment in Denver, Colorado, a group of 30-something women is having a party. They joke easily with each other about men, cats and botox.

It's more Sex and the City than Psycho, but party organiser Dana Shafman would have them believe they could easily be victims of violent crime.

She runs a company that sells Tasers, the electric stun guns used by security forces around the world.

In Colorado and other US states, it's legal for ordinary people to own them. Dana's marketing them to women as the ideal personal protection device.

"I've been to everyone's Avon-type tupperware-style parties, purse parties, clothing parties, boutique parties and I felt like why not have a self-defence party? Why not have a Taser party, because without self-defence you won't have any of the other stuff."

I'm fully in favour of parties like this, but I must say that I would vastly prefer that the parties were Taurus, Ruger or even S&W parties. Tasers are nifty little devices, but they are a poor substitute for a firearm. A Taser allows ones attacker to get back up and try again. The same cannot be said for a few rounds from a .45 or even a .380. They are also a one off device, not subject to fast reloads. They also don't have the fun factor that so many women shooters enjoy. Blasting away at a target or tin cans for an hour or two is a good way to spend an afternoon. Firing a Taser and holding down the button till it runs out of juice in 30-60 seconds....not so much. Women should be introduced to self defence items, even the Taser, but they should really be introduced to firearms. A Taser would be useful for a woman, no doubt about it. It should be used to stun her assailant long enough for her to reach for her firearm and insure her safety. And it's only good against a single assailant. What if you're confronted with a pair of thugs? They conveniently leave that out.

One small mistake does appear in the article, tho.

In a country with about one gun for every adult, Tasers are sometimes touted as a less dangerous alternative.

Plenty of people have been killed by police wielding Tasers, and the numbers continue to grow. Yes, they are less lethal than a hollowpoint to the chest, but they are not non-lethal. Your self defence weapon should be dangerous. If it's not...what's the point.

It's rather interesting that this article came from a news agency in a country with a disarmed populace. A country where mere possession of a Taser would cause your imprisonment. At least the author recognised that we Americans have a right to bear arms. Too bad the BBC doesn't support that same right in their own country.

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Self-Defense, Tasers, Women and Guns, Libertarian