Taser's Rights Violated
by digby
You read that right. You cannot make this stuff up:
Stun gun-maker Taser International Inc. told a judge on Monday its rights were violated by a Canadian inquiry that recommended police restrict the weapon's use because of safety concerns.
Do American corporations have inalienable rights bestowed by their Creator? Even in Canada?
The judge has already dismissed a portion of Taser's lawsuit, ruling that its allegations the inquiry's top staff were biased and dishonest were "unnecessary, scandalous and vexatious."
Government lawyers are expected to begin their arguments in defense of the inquiry on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Taser's critics have questioned the validity of its studies that the weapon is safe. The 2009 Braidwood report said there 25 deaths in Canada in incidents in which Tasers were used, and more than 300 in the United States.
Imagine if tasers were a drug regulated by the FDA with that kind of record (which is understated, by the way.) They would be withdrawn in a heartbeat and very expensive lawsuits would be launched immediately. And if taser used their bogus "excited delirium" defense (subjects were killed because taser exacerbated an underlying health condition) they would be laughed out of court.
But hey, their "rights" were violated when a magistrate ruled that killing innocent people with a supposedly non-lethal weapons was something that should be restricted and they demand redress. Where's the justice?
By the way, Taser International is headquartered in Arizona. Maybe that would be a good place for municipalities to focus their boycotts.
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