A House Democrat plans to introduce a bill that would hit AR-15's with a 1,000% tax -- and

[Jedi Guy]

142. Because you don't go up against someone with a real gun with just a beanbag shotgun or 40-mike-mike.

Both require the user to be at close range and neither are particularly accurate to begin with. The standard practice when these are deployed is to have other officers provide "lethal cover" with real guns in the event that the nonlethal rounds don't work. Beanbag shotguns, pepperball guns, and 40-mike-mike rounds are not magic and there are some situations where they just don't work or just aren't appropriate.

This is akin to saying "well why didn't they just tase him?" Because Tasers aren't magic and sometimes they don't work. Both probes have to make contact with flesh for the Taser to work, so if the person is moving quickly or wearing clothing, there's a good chance one of the probes will miss or get hung up in the fabric. Some Tasers have what's called drive stun capability and can be used like those stun guns from the 90s, but again, they require flesh contact for it to work.

The reason we allow cops to have lethal rounds is because there are just too damn many guns out there. The department I used to work for concluded that 70% of the time on a traffic stop, a gun is present in the car or on one of the occupants. This isn't the UK or Germany where guns are uncommon.