Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Smart guns have ignited a firestorm of debate between both sides of the gun rights conflict. Now tensions are rising and citizens are calling for action on smart gun laws.
German designer Ernst Mauch designed some of the most famous weapons in the world over his career, including the Heckler and Koch HK416. He is now facing pressure from advocates who view the gun as a threat to the Second Amendment.
For anyone who follows comics or saw either Judge Dredd movie the concept here is the same as with the Lawgiver. Only instead of being tied to a genetic signature the gun uses a dark, waterproof watch. Each watch is specific to the weapon and the gun will only fire if you have it.
Technically the process could work with any sort of weapon. We already have locking sheathes for knifes and theoretically a wristband identifier could be tied to these as well.
Right now their flagship model is the Armatix iP1 pistol. It fires .22 LR caliber bullets in a 10 round magazine. When the gun is ready to fire a green light comes on. If the watch does not properly send the signal a red light comes on and the gun locks up.
Law enforcement officers and lobbyists have been quick to point out that the setup runs on batteries. If either the gun-mounted battery dies or the watch stops working a gun cannot be fired. As such law enforcement officers do not want to use them as an uncharged battery could remove access to their weapon.
Unfortunately this does not solve the problem of stolen guns. If a criminal steals both your gun and watch then they can fire the weapon just fine. Therefore the idea is to keep the gun and watch separate, with the watch on your person at all times so that if your weapon gets stolen it will be of no use to the criminal.
So far these models are not becoming popular in America and according to the Motley Fool this is for a number of reasons. One is that some see it as a threat to their gun rights, others see them as unreliable and the price is high ($1,399+$399 watch).
Another reason is that in New Jersey both sides dislike the concept of a smart gun. Supporters on the right dislike it for the reasons mentioned earlier. Leftist advocates of gun control say that it will add to increased gun ownership.