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Just in case people don't know, smart guns are guns with fingerprint print recognition technology or a gun with a microchip that communicates with an RFID watch, which is worn by the user of the gun. B/c of an internal tracking device on both the gun and watch, the pistol will not fire if it is away from the owner. This dramatically decreases the chances of your gun being used by someone else. I guess my question is why are some gun owners against smart guns? If we were to phase out traditional firearms with those equipped with fingerprint technology what is the problem with that? I also don't understand how it would impede on 2nd amendment rights to bear arms.
“Smart guns” have been in the news recently. A gun store owner in Maryland abandoned plans to begin selling a German-made “smart gun” after protests–some of which included death threats. Such threats are crimes, and ought to be prosecuted, if the perpetrators can be identified. However, lawful threats, such as boycotts, seem likely to deter gun stores from selling the product. Gun owner boycotts and the risk of such boycotts have historically a very powerful check on the actions of firearms businesses. A firearms business which is perceived as anti-Second Amendment is not going to stay in business very long.
Gun owners are against them because many of us feel that eventually, the law will turn into "If it isn't smart, turn it in." Or, if it isn't smart, it can't be manufactured for sale in the US. Or something along those lines. I think that the fear of the smart gun is a bit abdurd, personally. That said, I would never own one for personal protection, nor would I, if I were a LEO, carry one. The risk of something not going right when I needed it to is way too high. How many times has a GPS been a little bit slow to load? How many times has my smartphone malfunctioned. It isn't a huge deal if it takes me 45 seconds to place a call. If it goes wrong when I'm trying to pull off a shot on a duck or something and I blow my chance, I'm not going to be happy.
Normal firearms can be very unreliable. There are a lot of small moving parts that have to withstand high pressures and internal impacts. They are commonly used in harsh outdoor environments and have to survive winter cold, rain, or after being dropped.
Think of how many times some expensive technology is touted as reliable but falls short. Would you buy a new phone with fingerprint technology and expect it to work after being in water? How many times has your phone ran low on battery power in the last year? Many guns are passed from father to son. I have one that was passed from my grandfather to my father to me and will be passed to my daughter or grandson. My wife has some weapons from her father from WW2. She treasures them as family heirlooms as a testament to his bravery and sacrifice. Will some gizmo technology have parts available in 70 years?
I grew up around guns and hunting. When my father was hospitalized for a half year, only a few boxes of 22 lrs and some fishing gear kept us fed. Guns are weapons AND tools for survival. When you mess with their reliability, they are only useful for....well nothing.
I don't own a gun, but I think this is a terrible idea. Technology fails. Imagine having to take both the safety off and have your fingerprint read. "Hold on Mr. Robber, lemme scan mahself". Not only that, what if the owner of the gun was incapacitated and their family member was right next to them and tried picking it up and said "denied". They would get denied out of existence!
it is gun control wearing the mask of public safety. the intention is not to make guns safer the intention is to make it harder to buy and use firearms for homeowners. anything that involves tracking firearms and the electronics to do so can and will be used to restrict their use primarily their use by homeowners.
the post by bubby is well said, additional tech layers to emergency equipment renders it useless. no more is this seen in police weapons, the law has dictated a vast array of non lethal weapons which must be carried, all which are never used. the glock is the only weapon ever used today in police work bek a law suit ensues when anything else is used or the officer is killed bek of under use of force.
Because every other piece of RFID and biometric technology commercially available at this time is unreliable crap.
When I really need my gun, I don't want to rely on unreliable crap.
I don't want to have to wear some tacky watch all the time "just in case."
My guns are all in individual safes with 4 digit code to open. Safe enough in my opinion.
p.s. How long do you think it would take real thieves to figure out a way to "jailbreak" a "smart" gun and then just use it however and whenever they wanted?
The only person this puts at a disadvantage is the owner.
Because every other piece of RFID and biometric technology commercially available at this time is unreliable crap.
When I really need my gun, I don't want to rely on unreliable crap.
I don't want to have to wear some tacky watch all the time "just in case."
My guns are all in individual safes with 4 digit code to open. Safe enough in my opinion.
p.s. How long do you think it would take real thieves to figure out a way to "jailbreak" a "smart" gun and then just use it however and whenever they wanted?
The only person this puts at a disadvantage is the owner.
This. Totally this. As soon as someone jailbreaks the devices, they can lock the persons device and use it against them. HAS ANYONE NOTE SEEN JUDGE DREDD?
The issue with a firearm is that you'll hopefully never need it, but when you do need it, it must work. Most guns are relatively simple machines capable of firing thousands of rounds without malfunction. You could load a revolver, put it in a safe, pull it out ten years later and fire it with no problem. Introducing something like a fingerprint reader also introduces new failure points. The software could have a glitch, the battery may quit holding a charge, the recoil from firing the gun could damage an electrical connection. It's not a big deal to have to swipe your finger three or fours times to log onto your laptop. It's a much bigger deal if your firearm doesn't immediately fire when you need it. Police officers would most need technology which prevents a non-authorized person from firing their guns. It's no coincidence that they refuse to test any of the smart gun technology and receive explicit exemptions from any legislation around it.
That's just one issue. There are also practical concerns. Guns need to work in severely cold weather, but exposed skin doesn't do so well. The criminal or grizzly bear probably won't take a timeout while you pull off your gloves. Will the fingerprint reader work if your hand is covered in blood?
A final point is cost. All people, including the poor, have the right to self defense. If the technology doubles or triple the price of a firearm, you've effectively stripped them of that right.
Points well taken about reliability but I think we are close to the point where the reliability of the electronics won't be the issue and they could require so little electricity that conventional batteries won't be needed. Also guns could easily recognize multiple users.
I bet a fair numbers of pro-gun parents with kids in the house (and properly locked up guns) would like this feature.
And for the rabid 2nd amenders, I am not saying this should/must become a law/requirement but would be a valid choice. This technology would not have stopped any of the nut job shootings too.
It is a free market economy. Feel free to buy one. However, read the posts and you will see that you would be in a small cohort of gun owners. Those who know about firearms are almost universally against buying one.
When I bought my gun safes, I was warned against getting an electronic lock. Apparently, the lock electronics fail after ten years or so in a number of them. And this was from the guy that sells the safes.
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