Not so very long ago, those concerned about crime or fearing for their safety had limited options. Many such people chose to purchase a handgun, unfortunately resulting in occasional accidental deaths when children got hold of it or someone was mistakenly identified as an intruder (resulting in yet another occupational liability for pizza delivery drivers!) After that came a plethora of non-lethal weapons including stun guns, pepper spray, and Tasers. Among the foregoing, Tasers are widely thought to be the most effective. The overall effectiveness of a stun gun has been measured at 86% (and pepper spray?s performance is even more dismal), but the Taser?s effectiveness has been measured at a constant 100% as long as your attacker isn?t an android. Believe it or not, Tasers are available to the public, although the most advanced versions are available only to police and other law enforcement personnel. In contrast with stun guns, when using a Taser you don?t need to be close enough to an attacker to touch him ? Tasers are effective from as far as fifteen feet (law enforcement grade Tasers are effective from up to thirty-five feet away). Even better, Tasers are safe ? they don?t cause death or permanent injury except in the case of freak accidents (someone falls and hits his head on concrete, for example). This feature is vitally important in case you mistakenly Taser someone by mistake. How does a Taser work? It uses compressed nitrogen to fire two fishhook probes into the attacker?s body. An electrical pulse shoots through the Taser probe wires and into the attacker?s body. This causes immediate loss of neuromuscular control for the entire duration of the impulse. Even if your aim is terrible, you only need to hit your attacker anywhere on his body or clothing, and you?ll end up Taser-ing the poor attacker into a quivering pile of flesh. Training is required to use it properly, but it is minimal and any reasonably intelligent person can master it. All in all, Tasers are considerably safer and more accurate than handguns and are easier to use. They?re also cheaper. If you live in a big metropolis, have enemies, or have an obnoxious personality, you should definitely give some consideration to purchasing a Taser.