Federal Judge Strikes Down America’s Last Stun-Gun Ban

The country’s final statewide ban on stun guns and tasers is no more.

U.S. District Court Judge William Smith struck down the state of Rhode Island’s prohibition against stun guns on Tuesday. In his ruling, Judge Smith found that the state provided “no evidence” that the ban improves public safety and thus it cannot overcome the burden it places on the constitutional rights of Rhode Island residents.

“The prohibition against the possession and use of stun guns set forth in [the stun-gun law] is an unconstitutional restriction of the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment in light of Heller,” the opinion reads. “Defendants are permanently enjoined from enforcing [state law] as related to stun guns.”

The ruling removes the remaining outlier in American regulation of the shock defense devices. Stun-gun bans have frequently been overturned by courts and repealed by legislatures in recent years following the 2016 Supreme Court decision in Caetano v. Massachusetts.