Woman in Alaska Reaches Plea Deal for Carrying Stun Gun without a License

A resident of Mayville, Alaska plead no contest to possession of an electric weapon when the charge came up in Dodge County Circuit Court this week.

The charge has a maximum penalty of six years in prison but the judge granted the Mayville resident, a 24 year old woman, a one year deferment of prosecution in this case.
The woman, who works at the Silk Exotic Gentlemen’s Club in Juneau, Alaska, has entered into a plea agreement regarding the charges.

The woman was speeding through downtown Juneau streets at about 2:30 am in early November when she was pulled over by a police officer. The woman was on her way home from work at the Gentlemen’s Club and was driving with a suspended license.

The police officer conducted a routine search for weapons and found a stun gun inside the woman’s purse. The woman first argued that the stun gun “wasn’t a weapon” but then said to the police officer, “You have a gun and can defend yourself, why can’t I defend myself?”

In Alaska, stun guns are classified as a defensive weapon, meaning that they are not designed to cause death or serious physical injury. Defensive weapons, however, are still subject to licensing laws and other laws regarding misuse.

Carrying a stun gun can be a good form of self defense, as the woman said, but those who choose to exercise their rights in this manner must also be familiar with local statutes and follow the laws of the state in which they reside.