Tasers for Sale in Minnesota Stores. No training or Permit Necessary

Minnesota stores will soon be able to sell stun guns as powerful as those used by police, despite growing concerns about the weapon's safety and occasional fatalities. No permit or training is required in Minnesota for the $999 consumer model of the Taser, which is already available on the Internet. The Taser, an acronym for Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle, delivers 50,000 incapacitating volts to its victims by way of two barbed darts attached to 15 feet of wire. The Star Tribune reported Sunday that it has documented 105 cases nationwide since 1983 in which a person died after being shocked by police with an electric stun weapon. Three people have died in Minnesota in the past 14 months, the newspaper said. [more ]