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State senator wants permits for stun guns

By Marshall Griffin, KWMU

Jefferson City, Mo. – Missourians would need a permit to buy a Taser or stun gun, if a bill in the State Senate becomes law.

The bill is sponsored by Democratic Senator Yvonne Wilson of Kansas City.

She said in addition to requiring citizens to get a permit to use them, Tasers and stun guns would also be reclassified as firearms.

"They're available on the Internet, and, they're becoming more powerful and more lethal, and I think that the public would be served by licensing these Tasers as weapons."

The Kansas City Police Department endorsed the bill at a Senate hearing in Jefferson City.

But one citizen at the hearing, Don Gaykens of the St. Louis area, spoke out against it

"If we're allowed to have lethal weapons, why on earth would we restrict access to a non-lethal weapon, which is what a Taser is? It simply does not make sense."

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on the Taser regulation bill this week.

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