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The Taser Party: Chicks Dig It

Self-defense-minded women seek something a little more shocking

By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser User

Posted Jan 6, 2008 2:41 PM CST

(Newser) – At-home female entrepreneurs are ditching Mary Kay for Tasers, but they're keeping the pink. Taser International is marketing its user-friendly C2 "personal protector" to the public, and women with an interest in self-defense are holding independent Taser parties in states where the stun gun is legal. "It's a girl power kind of thing," said one woman. Critics, however, aren't so sure.

The company has had a rough time countering bad press, but in 2007 Taser stock climbed from $7.44 to $19.36 a share, the AP reports. Still, living-room Taser trials are making some organizations nervous. "We want to stop violence against women. But we also want to ensure that Tasers don't end up causing it, too," said an Amnesty International spokeswoman.

Dana Leigh Shafman, center, of Shieldher, Inc.,  talks to attendees about personal safety at a Taser Party Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007 in Mesa, Ariz.  Shafman is an independent weapons dealer who's been selling Tasers the way her mother's generation sold plastic food storage containers. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Dana Leigh Shafman, center, of Shieldher, Inc., talks to attendees about personal safety at a Taser Party Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007 in Mesa, Ariz. Shafman is an independent weapons dealer who's been...   (Associated Press)
Dana Leigh Shafman, of Shieldher, Inc., talks about the new Taser C2 at a Taser Party Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007 in Mesa, Ariz.  Shafman is an independent weapons dealer who's been selling Tasers the way her mother's generation sold plastic food storage containers. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Dana Leigh Shafman, of Shieldher, Inc., talks about the new Taser C2 at a Taser Party Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007 in Mesa, Ariz. Shafman is an independent weapons dealer who's been selling Tasers the way...   (Associated Press)
The voltage from the Taser C2 lights up the target after hitting the mark after being fired by a party attendee at a Taser party Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007 in Mesa, Ariz.  (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The voltage from the Taser C2 lights up the target after hitting the mark after being fired by a party attendee at a Taser party Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007 in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)   (Associated Press)
Dana Leigh Shafman, of Shieldher, Inc., holds the new Taser C2 commercial model after shooting at a target at a Taser Party Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007 in Mesa, Ariz.  Shafman is an independent weapons dealer who's been selling Tasers the way her mother's generation sold plastic food storage containers. (AP...
Dana Leigh Shafman, of Shieldher, Inc., holds the new Taser C2 commercial model after shooting at a target at a Taser Party Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007 in Mesa, Ariz. Shafman is an independent weapons dealer...   (Associated Press)
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