Free Republic

The Army has successfully tested a futuristic laser weapon capable of shooting football-sized mortar rounds and unmanned drones out of the sky. The truck-mounted weapon, known as the High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD) is still about a decade away from becoming an operational part of the Army's arsenal, but gives a hint at what a weapon of the future could look like. The Army tested its HEL MD laser at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for nearly six weeks starting in mid-November. The device was equipped with a 10-kilowatt solid state laser and a...

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow people to carry stun guns for personal protection. State law now allows the device popularly known as Tasers to be kept in someone's home. A representative of the device manufacturer told a public hearing of the General Assembly's Public Safety Committee on Thursday that customers from the state want to carry their Tasers with them when they feel most vulnerable. Peter Holran of Scottsdale, Arizona-based Taser International Inc. estimates more than 200,000 citizens are currently carrying the devices in the U.S. Sen. Andrea Stillman, the committee co-chairwoman,...