Two Florida lawmakers want to ban the use of Taser guns by police, until it can be determined that they are safe.

The brand Taser is the most popular such device used in law enforcement. The Taser gun shoots two cables with darts that penetrate a person's skin, delivering 50,000 volts of electricity. The shock usually renders someone momentarily senseless, but there have been cases where people have died. State Sens. Gary Siplin and Tony Hill said there are too many questions about the safety of the devices. They contend the manufacturer did not conduct enough testing before putting the equipment on the market. They've been used for decades. Proposed legislation would provide $1.5 million for a study. Another proposed law would ban the use of Tasers on schoolchildren.

While I frequently point out the shortcomings of Taser use, I don't think an outright ban is the best way to go. The problem is not so much the device itself as it is the training of how and when to use a Taser gun. Tasers were meant to be an alternative to lethal force. They incapacitate a subject so that the officer doesn't have to shoot them in the chest. But as the popularity has taken hold, Tasers were increasingly used as cattle prods. Not just suspects, but bystanders and even young school children were tased simply for stepping out of line. Or suspects were tased even after they were in custody, in a misguided effort to calm them down or to extract information. Rather than looking at the safety of the device itself, officials should study whether or not officers should be so cavalier about their use.