In a brilliant stroke of marketing strategy, Taser International has struck a deal with a Westlake, Ohio-based corporation. TravelCenters, who owns and operates TA and Petro truck stops, will soon begin selling Taser guns.

Taser executive Steve Tuttle recently told the Toledo Blade, “Anybody that’s traveling does have concerns about personal safety. For the trucker away from his family, he might want one or think that his wife could use that while he’s gone, or his daughter at college could use one.”

When questioned about advertising and marketing, Tuttle said, “It fits with our vision of getting our products into more mainstream stores.”

According to the Blade article, the deal is “the first in which the defense technology company will sell its products in a retail setting other than sporting-goods stores or licensed firearms dealers.”

The C2 TASER Gun, a model designed for use by the private citizenry, costs about $300. For the variation with a laser sight which shows where the barbed projectiles are aimed, add about $50. These non-lethal weapons are effect up to 15 feet as well as functioning as stun guns at close range. Anyone who purchases a Taser must pass a $10 background check before they are provided with the activation code which renders the weapon functional.

Theresa Cleland, who owns Cleland’s Outdoor World, says, “They’re non-lethal and they’re really catching on.”