Post by Admin on May 9, 2019 22:28:33 GMT
So-Called “Smart Gun” Technology Is Not Reliable
So-called “smart guns” are all the rage among gun controllers these days. What are “smart guns”? In theory, they’re guns outfitted with technology that renders the weapon inoperable if it is wielded by anyone other than its lawful owner. In theory, “smart gun” technology sounds like an interesting concept. But some gun controllers want to make it mandatory:
There has been renewed interest in smart guns since the Newtown school shooting, which reinvigorated the gun-control debate. However, there is immense pressure not to be the first to sell them. That’s because of a New Jersey law passed in 2002 known as the Childproof Handgun Law, which says that all guns sold in New Jersey must be state-approved smart guns within three years of a smart gun being sold anywhere in the country. The goal was to make smart guns mandatory as soon as the technology existed. Officially, no smart gun has been sold in the US yet — meaning if Raymond had sold one, it would have triggered the clause in New Jersey.
In practice, the unproven and unreliable technology demanded by gun controllers is a disaster waiting to happen. As noted in a previous example, mechanical safeties fail. So do electronic devices. Now imagine putting an electronic device subject to radio interference in charge of whether a gun can be fired. Heck, simple biometric gun safes are not even 100% reliable. Batteries fail. Software fails. Circuits short out. Fingerprint readers can quickly become unreliable. And what happens if your smart-gun triggering wristband is shot or otherwise damaged by a home invader? You and your family are completely out of luck.
There’s a reason there’s absolutely zero market for “smart guns” among people who actually understand how guns work: the technology is completely unreliable. The basic gun safety rules, though, are airtight. It shouldn’t surprise us that people who don’t even understand basic gun mechanics or safety rules want to mandate completely unreliable technology.
This isn’t to say the underlying technology isn’t useful. It can be. One police force is considering using the technology to alert the department whenever an officer’s gun is unholstered or discharged.
If individuals or organizations decide on their own to implement a new, untested technology, they’re free to do so. But mandating unreliable “smart gun” technology is a very dumb thing to do.
So-called “smart guns” are all the rage among gun controllers these days. What are “smart guns”? In theory, they’re guns outfitted with technology that renders the weapon inoperable if it is wielded by anyone other than its lawful owner. In theory, “smart gun” technology sounds like an interesting concept. But some gun controllers want to make it mandatory:
There has been renewed interest in smart guns since the Newtown school shooting, which reinvigorated the gun-control debate. However, there is immense pressure not to be the first to sell them. That’s because of a New Jersey law passed in 2002 known as the Childproof Handgun Law, which says that all guns sold in New Jersey must be state-approved smart guns within three years of a smart gun being sold anywhere in the country. The goal was to make smart guns mandatory as soon as the technology existed. Officially, no smart gun has been sold in the US yet — meaning if Raymond had sold one, it would have triggered the clause in New Jersey.
In practice, the unproven and unreliable technology demanded by gun controllers is a disaster waiting to happen. As noted in a previous example, mechanical safeties fail. So do electronic devices. Now imagine putting an electronic device subject to radio interference in charge of whether a gun can be fired. Heck, simple biometric gun safes are not even 100% reliable. Batteries fail. Software fails. Circuits short out. Fingerprint readers can quickly become unreliable. And what happens if your smart-gun triggering wristband is shot or otherwise damaged by a home invader? You and your family are completely out of luck.
There’s a reason there’s absolutely zero market for “smart guns” among people who actually understand how guns work: the technology is completely unreliable. The basic gun safety rules, though, are airtight. It shouldn’t surprise us that people who don’t even understand basic gun mechanics or safety rules want to mandate completely unreliable technology.
This isn’t to say the underlying technology isn’t useful. It can be. One police force is considering using the technology to alert the department whenever an officer’s gun is unholstered or discharged.
If individuals or organizations decide on their own to implement a new, untested technology, they’re free to do so. But mandating unreliable “smart gun” technology is a very dumb thing to do.
