Michigan is not Phased by Tasers

Sale of Tasers to public weighed

Mich. bills would allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry nonlethal device.

Delores Flynn / The Detroit News

GRAND LEDGE -- Cana Garrison has handled guns since age 12, when she and her dad shot targets in the woods behind their Charlotte home. But the Air National Guardswoman, who has rifle and pistol training, would rather carry a Taser than a gun. "With a Taser, I can still defend myself, but with less force to incapacitate a perpetrator, and at the same time I don't have to worry about hurting anyone else," she said.

Garrison is among those who support a three-bill House package that would allow Michigan residents with concealed-weapon permits to carry a Taser, instead of a gun, as a less-than-lethal option for self-defense. Under current law, only law enforcement and Corrections officers, military personnel, licensed private investigators, pilots and crew members can possess weapons that use electric currents.

"I believe firearms are a good thing, but I'm concerned about potential stray bullets harming someone, especially in my home," said Garrison, 28, who's taken state concealed pistol license training and is seeking a CCW permit. "If I shot someone and the bullet went through them, then through a wall or window and hit an innocent bystander on the sidewalk, that's the absolute last thing I'd want to happen trying to defend yourself."

The law would allow Michigan residents to buy single-shot civilian Tasers that use compressed nitrogen to shoot wired darts 15 feet, delivering a painful electrical charge that incapacitates a person's muscles and limbs. And while proponents argue that Tasers are a safer alternative to firearms, law enforcement officials and human rights advocates say the devices are far too dangerous to entrust to the public for widespread use.

Civilians are allowed to carry the devices in 43 states. Taser laws vary by state. Illinois only allows residents to use a Taser or stun gun, which has to be pressed against the skin, inside a home or business.

In Arizona, women attend Taser parties that resemble Tupperware get-togethers. In 2007, Taser International released its fits-in-a-purse C2 model, which comes in a variety of colors, including metallic pink.

Michigan's legislation, which is under review in the House Judiciary Committee, makes it a felony for anyone to misuse or commit a crime with a Taser. Jones hopes the Judiciary Committee takes up the issue in the next two months and the bill gets passed by the end of the year. If not, he will take up the issue again in 2009.

Since the devices are only intended for self-defense, once a Taser is shot it spits out a confetti-like material containing the serial number of the cartridge that police can use to identify the owner if necessary, according to Taser International. The company has sold Tasers since 1994 and knows of fewer than a dozen cases where the device has been used in a crime. In 14 years, more than 160,000 Tasers have been sold to consumers directly from the company, Cabela's and some firearm outlets.

Tom Urbanski, owner of Ski's Firearm Training and Consulting in Oregon, Ohio, a Toledo suburb, keeps a handful of Tasers in stock in case one of his firearms students becomes squeamish about using a gun. "When I hit students with the fact they need to aim for somebody's chest, which might kill them in defense, I usually get a negative reaction, especially from women," Urbanski said. "That's when I pull out the Tasers and stun guns and offer them a different option."

Brad Benzing doesn't support Michigan's proposed legislation because, as with guns, it would limit the places where Tasers can be carried.

No-carry zones would include schools, university classrooms and dorms, churches, day care centers, hospitals, bars and taverns, sporting arenas and entertainment facilities with 2,500 people or more. That's too restrictive for Benzing.