This is a riot control weapon

that can still kill if fired at the head instead of the torso (did you read the article?)

It's a longer-range alternative to beanbag rounds, which are also lethal if misused. Used very carefully, they can distract someone and cause a lot of pain without causing lethal injury, but it's not something that would be used in lieu of a firearm, or a taser for that matter.

Another example of the "assault weapon" meme shutting down rational thought.

Does he realize that two or three times as many Americans are killed annually riding bicycles? Better dump that Dorel Industries/Pacific Cycles stock. And it would be supremely ironic if the pension fund invests in alcohol companies...

Of course, the "assault weapon" fraud has never been about gun misuse, or saving lives.

Especially ironic...

since this same newpaper just last month called for the forced confiscation of the most popular rifles in U.S. homes, even though rifles kill fewer people than bicycles do.

I commend the President for not going down that road; I was relieved to see absolutely none of that in the executive actions announced this week. It's certainly not for lack of lobbying by the NYT, other large media corporations, Wall Street tycoons, and Third Way groups.

From just this past month:

New Republic:

It’s Time to Ban Guns. Yes, All of Them.

"Ban guns. All guns. Get rid of guns in homes, and on the streets, and, as much as possible, on police. Not just because of San Bernardino, or whichever mass shooting may pop up next, but also not not because of those. Don’t sort the population into those who might do something evil or foolish or self-destructive with a gun and those who surely will not. As if this could be known—as if it could be assessed without massively violating civil liberties and stigmatizing the mentally ill. Ban guns! Not just gun violence. Not just certain guns. Not just already-technically-illegal guns. All of them."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/05/opinion/end-the-gun-epidemic-in-america.html

"It is past time to stop talking about halting the spread of firearms, and instead to reduce their number drastically — eliminating some large categories of weapons and ammunition.

Certain kinds of weapons, like the slightly modified combat rifles (sic) used in California, and certain kinds of ammunition, must be outlawed for civilian ownership. It is possible to define those guns in a clear and effective way and, yes, it would require Americans who own those kinds of weapons to give them up for the good of their fellow citizens."