Here's an actual hand-held gauss pistol, *almost* at a point where it could reliably kill somebody. Eventually.
Muzzle energy is still...lacking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=nVgbtqsmx54
Then there's this kind of lunacy:
http://www.wickedlasers.com.hk/arctic
...which I believe would make a devastating weapon right this minute, at that power level...it's ability to blind somebody is near-instantaneous. It would make a horrific CQB piece, and dangerous as hell to yourself unless you wore the spectrum-matched glasses that they come with (think about reflections off of glass/metal surfaces...).