Arlan Meekhof, the 89th District Republican Representative to the Michigan House of Representatives, has announced that he supports legislation that would allow the public to carry Tasers. In news reports yesterday, Meekhof said that he plans to introduce the legislation later this month that would allow Michigan residents to carry Tasers. Meekhof was quoted by WZZM 13 saying that he heard about it over the Christmas season, stating "When they [people] stood outside before stores opened sometimes, they were concerned a little bit for their safety." He further described demand as coming from "...primarily females. They really didn't want to have deadly force, but want that protection and thought tasers would be appropriate."

In the media coverage of Meekhof's announcement, there has been no discussion of the safety of Taser's beyond the fact that the widespread availability of Tasers might mean that they would be used to commit crimes. In recent years, the electric stun guns known as Tasers have drawn significant criticism. The United Nations has expressed concern that Tasers constitute torture. The human rights group Amnesty International has called for a halt in the use of Tasers, citing the deaths of more than 150 people in the United States from Tasers since 2001.