Iowa Supreme Court building.

Iowa Supreme Court building.

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that a non-working stun gun is still considered a dangerous weapon under Iowa law.

Police found a small stun gun in the purse of 25-five-year-old Taquala Howse of Waterloo after she was arrested for shoplifting. Howse said she carried the stun gun for protection, but she did not have a permit for the device.

She was convicted of carrying a dangerous weapon. The Iowa Court of Appeals ruled the stun gun didn’t work and there wasn’t enough evidence to prove it was a dangerous weapon.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruling says the legislature has defined a stun gun as a weapon or as a dangerous weapon and the court is required to give words their ordinary and common meaning. So, a stun gun, even if inoperable, is a dangerous weapon and there is enough evidence to uphold Howse’s conviction.

Here’s the ruling: Stun gun ruling PDF