Guns

Here is a germ of an idea. Details would have to be worked out.

Couple restrictive gun laws with major incentives to purchase one of these new non lethal guns made by Byrna and others, that supposedly completely stop bad guys for a period of time, but rarely cause lasting harm. Most people don’t even know they exist. Many people who are paranoid about being a crime victim still are very averse to killing someone, but don’t think they have an alternative. (I believe these things are actually more effective than a normal gun because if the projectile hits any part of their body they are done for a while, which isn’t true for bullets. In fact I believe that the tear gas, pepper spray combination used, means that it is irrelevant if the attacker is wearing anti bullet armor.)

If these semi weapons were free, or practically free, and all but the most obvious fruitcakes are allowed to own them with no red tape, that might swing enough voters to allowing favoring the restrictive gun laws they now oppose (obviously not the zealots or, as some call them, the gun fetishists.)

Those who owned these gizmos would of course be subject to normal assault laws. But those laws would be a bit more lenient than typical gun laws. In other words, you wouldn’t have to prove that you were in fear for your life to avoid being convicted of a crime if you used the Byrna. A lesser degree of danger, or preventing a major theft, would suffice.

Just one example of why my idea might work involves the controversy regarding teachers being armed. The arguments against that pretty much go away if the weapon is a Byrna type gizmo, especially if I am correct that they actually might be more effective against a school shooter than an actual gun.