The his-and-her stun guns were an impulse buy. Perusing the offerings at the recent Oaks Gun Show at the Philadelphia Expo Center, the couple from the Northeast spied a table of personal safety products that included an array of rechargeable mini stun guns bordering on the fanciful:
Palm-size stun guns in snappy colors, stun guns that looked like smartphones, stun guns disguised as packs of popular cigarette brands, stun gun flashlights.She went for a smart purple; he, classic black, for $45 apiece. "She works as a nurse, and sometimes she works late," said the husband, a customer service worker who declined to be named. "I don't want her carrying a gun, but I want her to have something to protect herself." "He worries about me," said his wife.
Though industry figures weren't available, sellers and producers of personal safety products say in recent years they have seen an increase in demand for personal-use stun guns, particularly those intended for women. The devices are legal to use, without permits, in much of this region, except for New Jersey and the city of Philadelphia.
"We've grown from a three million dollar business to an eight million dollar business in three to four years," said Billy Pennington, whose Personal Security Products company in Arkansas sells a variety of stun guns for which he holds patents.
His biggest demographic? Women 18 to 65. "Parents buy them for their kids going to college," Pennington said. Nurses also buy them, he said. And when a real estate agent in the Little Rock, Arkansas area was recently found dead after showing a property, Pennington said, demand spiked.
Women on Guard, a Florida personal and home safety online business, sells mini stun guns that look like lipstick cases, complete with bling. Some sales give a portion of proceeds to breast cancer research. The website also lists hotline numbers for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. The company was started about eight years by two women, then in the Atlanta, Georgia area, who wanted products for their own safety, according to one of them, Susan Eaton, a former banker. Eaton said the company's volume had increased over the last couple of years, with men making up about half of customers. Stun guns are their biggest seller, she said, especially the little ones. "The smaller the stun gun, the more popular," Eaton said.
Proponents of the stuns say just the piercing racket they make can be enough to deter a would-be attacker. Priced between twenty and a hundred dollars, they are worth it, fans say.
Women on Guard also sells Tasers, the more potent brand of a product very different from the smaller stuns, which deliver their zap when held next to clothes or skin.
Tasers, though available for personal use, are more commonly used by police forces across the nation, including those in Philadelphia, Camden, and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and in more than a hundred countries, according to a company spokesman.
Tasers shoot out two probes attached to conductive wires that can project as far as twenty-five feet. When they connect with the body or clothing of a target, they deliver nineteen pulses of electricity a second, temporarily disabling the person.
Taser spokesman Steve Tuttle said his company does not consider the other stun guns competition, but he seemed to take a dim view of some of their sellers' claims of effectiveness and power. "The stun guns are purely pain-compliant devices," Tuttle said, leaving the user a small window of time to flee an assailant. "You'd be better off with pepper spray," he said, because the spray has a lasting impact. Tuttle also questioned the value and veracity of the mega-high-voltage claims of some manufacturers, as do some of their peers.
People in the stun-gun business are divided on the science behind their products. Many sellers say voltage does not indicate how much the stun zap will hurt, but rather the thickness of clothing it will quickly penetrate. Others disagree. There are almost no studies on the effectiveness of the units, leaving buyers dependent on the claims of sellers. On the other hand, as Tasers are used so widely in law enforcement, their use has been studied, critiqued, and criticized.
Stun guns are legal in the vast majority of states, including Pennsylvania, provided they're used defensively, and not for an illegal purpose. New Jersey bans their use by civilians. Philadelphia has banned them by city ordinance since 1977. That doesn't mean they aren't in use.
Eliot Harris of Texas, a personal protection seller until recently, said he would hear from residents of Philadelphia and other restricted areas "regularly, daily. I'd get calls: 'I know you can't ship it to me, but can you ship it to my friend?' "
At the gun show, Stacey Blackwell, 43, a city resident, was buying a pink stun gun for her older sister. She said she got her own about a year ago. "I had a stalker," said Blackwell, who collects mortgage debt. That problem was resolved, but she said the stun gun, which she has never had to use, is good to have with her as she gets around the city on public transportation. On one train trip, she said, she was talking to a city police officer, a fellow passenger. She asked him whether stun guns were legal in Philadelphia.
"He said: 'No, but if you want to get someone off of you, I suggest you use it.'"
Rico says he couldn't convince the ladyfriend to carry one (much less a gub), so he can only hope she never needs one...
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