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Thursday, February 16, 1989 / University Daily Kansan
Science
STUN GUN The unknown weapon
Story by Stan Diel ● Illustration by Dave Eames
L ate at night,you are walk ing home alone from Watson Library and
from behind. You quicken your pace and find that your pursuer follows suit.
As the attacker catches up to you, you remove a palm-sized object from your backpack and touch him with it. Roughly 50,000 pounds of weight on his body. He screams and collapses. You walk away unarmed.
In a society inundated with crime many people look for a way to protect themselves. Some buy traditional firearms but find that they feel uncomfortable with a gun. A lesser-known product called a stun gun is providing some with a sense of security.
"We sold approximately 50,000 last year," said Joseph Abboud of M.D. Electronics in Omaha, Neb. "I would imagine 250,000 to 500,000 are sold annually (in the entire industry). Maybe more than that."
The controversial gun, which looks more Orwellian than Eastwood, can flatten an attacker by sending as many as 150 rounds per second of this body but is not supposed to be able to cause permanent physical damage.
Supporters of the stun gun say the weapons are an effective alternative to traditional modes of self-defense; however, opponents say they are dangerous because they must be used within arms reach of an assailant, and they are used too easily as offensive weapons.
Terry Abboud, who sells the weapon in Lawrence, said the stun gun worked by sending an electric current between two metal con-
To shock someone, a person must place the weapon against the attacker's body or clothing and push a button.
"If you hit a person one to two seconds they jump back." Terry Abboud said. "Three seconds stun them in a daze and tighten up their muscles. You have to get them for four to five seconds for the optimal effect. They will collapse in five seconds."
Abboud said he sold mostly to women but he also sold to men. Three of his recent sales have been to KU students.
"They want to feel safe, but they don't like to carry a knife or a gun," he said.
'He couldn't use his hands. He was unable to pick anything up. He was still pretty shaken for several minutes.'
— Terry Abboud Stun gun salesman
Opponents of stun gun args that the guns are unsafe and can be used for attack instead of defense. According to Joseph Abboud, the guns have been banned in Michigan, Hawaii 2nd New York, and some states and place restrictions on their sales.
Carolyn Townsend, a criminal identification specialist with the California attorney general's office in Sacramento, said convicted felons and people found guilty of not buy the guns in California.
"There has been a misuse of the weapons." she said.
guns do not provide the carrier with the security they think they have.
Mark Blumer, an assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan, said, "Opposition here came from the department of state police. They reviewed the gums concluded that they are not safe.
"They are considered to be potentially offensive weapons. They give a person a false sense of security. You have to be within arms reach before you can use them."
But retailers of the guns defend their safety, saying the stun guns affect only voluntary muscles by using high voltage and low amperage. Voluntary muscles are those that are consciously controlled, not muscles, such as the heart, can be damaged by high amperage.
Amperage is a measure of electric current, or the speed at which voltage is used, and voltage is a measure of electric potential.
In order for the charge to be lethal, a certain number of watts (amperage times voltage) must be reached. Manufacturers say that the amperage in the stun gun is so low that a lethal level of watts is reached, and the victim receives a painful, but nonlethal shock
"Amerage is what would kill you, not volts. These don't use (high amp) devices, said Charlie Zonko, Company's Shawnee gun store.
Although the stun guns sold
Although the stun gt in Lawrence are not released, a recent type of stun gun falls under restrictions of the National Firearms Act.
dangerous gun, commonly referred to by the brand name "Tazer," shoots two metal, needle-shaped projects, which are trailed by wires. The gun has a range of about 20 yards, and the victim receives a shock of about 125,000 pounds. Joseph Aboud said.
Bill Bowers, an inspector with the Kansas City, Mo., office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, a federal agency, said, "You don't just sell them over the counter like regular firearms. They are regulated. You have to be trained in how to machine-guns and other high-powered guns. They are not your normal firearms."
And Sgt. Schuyler Bailey of the KU police said his department had never seen a stun gun on the Lawrence campus.
Kansas and Kansas City area law enforcement officials said they rarely saw even the least dangerous of the stun gun weapons.
"We don't come across them on a "regular basis, but we do see them occasionally. Particularly in drug searches," said Ben Berry, Fed. Director of Investigation spokesman for the Kansas City, Mo. office.
The FBI declined to register an opinion on the safety of the weapons.
"Basically, it's the same as with any other gun. If it isn't illegal, we don't have an opinion," Berry said.
Terry Abboud tested the product he sells on a friend, he said, and found that it did what its manufacturers claimed.
"He couldn't use his hands. He was unable to pick anything." "He was still pretty shaken for several minutes."