[LINK] Dept. of Homeland Security weighs forcing passengers to wear stun gun bracelets on airplanes

[Adam Todd]

http://www.gadling.com/2008/07/07/update-dept-of-homeland-security-weighs-forcing-passengers-to/



Update: Dept. of Homeland Security weighs forcing passengers to wear 
stun gun bracelets on airplanes

by <http://www.gadling.com/bloggers/jeffrey-white>Jeffrey White   Jul 
7th 2008 @ 3:00PM
Back in March, Gadling 
<http://www.gadling.com/2008/03/21/company-patents-electrical-shock-device-to-be-used-for-aviation/>blogged 
about a firearm training system, Lamperd, which had patented a 
bracelet that worked like a stun gun when activated.

At the time, Lamperd was lobbying the Transportation Security 
Administration to make it mandatory for all airline passengers to 
wear one, with the thinking that it was the best way to thwart a terrorist.

Well, here's an update.

The Department of Homeland Security, ever the shepherds watching over 
their flocks, appears to be seriously weighing making this bracelet 
mandatory and has sent a letter to Lamperd encouraging the company to 
draft a formal proposal for integrating its bracelet into flight security.

That's right. Your tax dollars are funding the R&D arm of DHS, which 
wants to develop technology that acts essentially as a GPS attached 
to your wrist, allowing the government to track pretty much 
everywhere you go once you check in for your flight, and giving the 
flight crew the ability to waylay you if you get out of hand.

O.K., that might be overstating it: Officials say the bracelet would 
only be activated in the event of a terrorist attack. But still....

Here is a promotional 
<http://www.lamperdlesslethal.com/video_gallery.asp?video=http://www.lamperdlesslethal.com/video/EMDsafetybracelet.flv&title=>video 
for the bracelet that piqued DHS's interest.

The Washington Times 
<http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/aviation-security/2008/Jul/01/want-some-torture-with-your-peanuts/#again>today 
quotes a letter from DHS's Paul S. Ruwaldt, of the Science and 
Technology Directorate, in which he writes to Lamperd saying, "To 
make it clear, we are interested in...the immobilizing security 
bracelet and look forward to receiving a written proposal."

The Times says the letter was written on Federal Aviation 
Administration letterhead.

The Times goes on to detail what the bracelet could do. It would:
    * Eliminate the need to carry a boarding pass
    * Contain personal data about you, including your travel history
    * Monitor the whereabouts of both you and your luggage after check-in
    * Employ Electro-Musclar Disruption technology that could 
immobilize a passenger for nearly 10 minutes
Now, with all the <http://www.gadling.com/page/2/>idiotic things 
passengers have been doing on planes of late, I could maybe get 
behind employing some kind of bracelet stun gun.

But seriously, I consider all this with some foreboding. I mean, 
slipping a bracelet on a little kid that could deliver a shock 
powerful enough to make an electronic dog fence zap seem like a 
pinprick is a scary thought. What if a flight attendant accidently 
activates one of them?

What do you think? Would mandatory bracelets like these make air 
travel safer, or is this just another way for the government to look 
over our shoulders?