Mega Stun Gun Introduced to DODs Non-Lethal ArsenalBrandon Turbeville The new stun gun was recently unveiled at the DODs Non-Lethal Weapons Industry Day and it works by hitting the target individual with alarmingly high voltage for a very short amount of time i.e. billionths of seconds. However, the amount of electricity fired into the persons body, while not specified in terms of exact voltage, will be enough to not only stun the individual but render them unconscious. The victim is supposed to be able to regain consciousness as soon as the flow of electricity stops. However, the Pentagon is predictably working on yet another version of this improved stun gun that will render the victim unconscious for several minutes. The ethical issues surrounding the invention and deployment of such technology, particularly on the streets of the United States are legion. As Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai writes for Wired, How dangerous a device like that could be is unclear. Stun guns have a long and well documented history of abuse even studentsand grandmas have been victims of overzealous, Taser-happy police officers. And their use, despite being labeled non-lethal, can be deadly. According to Amnesty International, at least 500 people have died after being shocked with tasers. In 2008, a jury in San Jose deemed the company that produces the stun gun, Taser International, responsible for the death of Robert Heston, a 40-year-old man who was shot by the cops multiple times. The jury found that the company failed to warn the police that repeated discharges could have a deadly effect on the target. Of course, while the technology itself is obviously dangerous, it is not so much the devices that are responsible for the deaths, as it is the fact that they have been placed in the hands of persons wholly incapable of operating them in a responsible manner. Thus, this technology is in much more than the conceptual phase it is in introductory phase. For instance, in his own write-up in Wired, Franceschi-Bicchierai states that If the Pentagon ever wants this device to see the light of day, it will have to strike the right balance between disabling power and potential damage. It should be noted, however, that this new technology is not the only device being introduced to the general public by way of the Department of Defenses Non-Lethal Weapons Industry Day held in Quantico, Virginia on June 22, 2012. The Pentagons Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate, the DOD agency responsible for such projects had long been researching such technologies and has been proposing such devices as sticky foam guns, sonic cannons, and machines that produce voices inside the victims head, reproducing the effects of schizophrenia. Other technologies include the use of laser beams to blind victims or make them feel unbearable heat. Both of these devices have either been introduced or are in use today, using slightly different technological mechanisms. The dazzling laser mentioned above is designed to work from over 500 meters (0.3 miles) away. The Non-Lethal Thermal Laser, which is designed to produce a powerful heating sensation in the victims body is similar to the Active Denial System which is already completed and uses microwaves to achieve the same effect. The Pentagon is also working on technologies that could affect machines, boats, and other vehicles. These technologies would use radio frequency, high powered microwaves or high-voltage waveforms [that] would disrupt or damage the targets engine controls, potentially shutting them off. These immobilizing rays could even be delivered from the air by a drone. Franceschi-Bicchierai concludes his report for Wired by stating: In short, dont get your hopes or fears too high. Some of these projects will end up being labeled either too ambitious, or too deadlyand theyll never go from a cool presentation to reality. In other words, Franceshi-Bucchierais statement is merely a spin-off of the traditional It couldnt happen here statement the famous swan song of every society that ever descended into tyranny. The problem is that it can happen here and that it is happening here. We need only open our eyes and look around us to see it. Brandon Turbeville is an author out of Mullins, South Carolina. He has a Bachelors Degree from Francis Marion University and is the author of three books, Codex Alimentarius The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies, and Five Sense Solutionsand Dispatches From a Dissident.Turbeville has published over one hundred articles dealing with a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. Brandon Turbeville is available for podcast, radio, and TV interviews. Please contact us at activistpost (at) gmail.com. linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 