[ExI] pistols

[Adrian Tymes]

While we're on the topic, what is the stopping power of the coilgun
depicted at https://arcflashlabs.com/product/emg-01b/ ?  The per-shot
muzzle velocity and energy is small compared to a pistol, but the rate of
fire looks like it might make up for it.  Price aside (prices fall as
things become more common, and this advertises itself as the first of its
class ever sold commercially), would this be a serious contender for a
useful self-defense weapon?

I'm thinking that, since coilguns aren't technically "firearms" under most
laws in the US, there may be less legal complications (which can be
considered a form of maintenance, such as for cost of ownership) to deal
with if someone has one of these and does not have a firearm.  There is
less (not zero, but less) legal pretext for confiscation of coilguns than
for firearms - and since coilguns are electronic anyway, it intuitively
seems easier to add biometric scanners and similar gun safety equipment.

(For those cases where one is convinced that one does need something like
this - which, as Stathis points out, is usually a false conclusion.  But in
many cases, that conclusion is essentially an a prior assumption - and in
many of those cases this is paired with a fear, which is taken far more on
faith than on evidence, that the government may eventually try to
confiscate guns with the intention of leaving common people defenseless -
so I wonder if a coilgun might be a practical solution in those cases,
since facts that challenge the assumptions and faith will be disregarded.)
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