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Washington: This year, “smart” pistols meant to limit who can shoot them are expected to join the burgeoning US firearm market, aiming to combat rising gun deaths as federal lawmakers remain deadlocked on any new regulations.
For decades, the technology has been plagued by questions about dependability and political battles, but proponents argue it offers an opportunity to protect minors, criminals, and anyone contemplating self-harm from pulling the trigger.
However, whether purchasers will accept the deadly guns, whether they will perform as intended in real-life, and whether they will fulfil their promise to boost gun safety could take years to answer.
“I don’t have a crystal ball to tell whether it’ll be excellent on balance, bad on balance, or eventually like other smart firearms in the past — kind of a flop,” Adam Skaggs, general counsel and policy director at gun control advocacy group Giffords, said.
The SmartGunz technology uses RFID chips implanted inside rings, similar to the transmitters many people use in their cars to pay tolls.
A safety mechanism unlocks when shooters grip the gun with the hand that is wearing the specific ring, allowing the gun to fire.
Holland sees possibilities in protecting police officers whose pistols may be wrenched away by a suspect, as well as parents concerned that their children may discover their firearm.
He told AFP, “This is all about gun safety.” “Those who desire a’safer gun’…can have access to this if they believe they require lethal protection on their property,” says the company.
He anticipates selling his weapon to citizens in April or May, after it has been tested by some police in the United States.
A society where everyone owns a gun
According to the Pew Research Center, 40% of adult Americans live in a household with a gun.
According to the Small Arms Analytics & Forecasting firm, firearm sales established a new high in 2020, with about 23 million sold.
Following racial justice rallies and the outbreak of the pandemic, the United States had its largest increase in homicides since national records began in 1960 in 2020, yet overall homicide rates remained lower than in the 1990s.
The periodic horror of mass shootings in the United States generates tremendous bursts of attention, while suicides account for more than half of the 40,000 yearly gun deaths.
The user identification procedures, according to Ginger Chandler, co-founder of smart gun manufacturer LodeStar Works, are a physical and psychological barrier against accidents, suicides, and crimes.
“Someone who is permitted will pick up the firearm at a time of stress,” she explained, “but they will have to take that (additional) step.” “Perhaps it gives them pause and makes them think, ‘Hey, do I really want to do this right now?'”
Her company’s 9 mm pistol, which it hopes to have on the market by 2023, can be unlocked using three different methods: a fingerprint sensor, a smartphone app, or a keypad.
Lobby for gun ownership
After years of instability in the “smart” weapons market, these newcomers arrive.
In 2000, US firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson promised to work with then-President Bill Clinton’s administration on gun violence-reduction policies, including the development of smart guns, but the agreement fell apart after a backlash from America’s powerful gun rights movement.
A 2002 state legislation in New Jersey that would have outlawed pistols without user-authentication technology provoked outrage, and it was rewritten in 2019 to permit state weapons stores to sell smart guns whenever they become commercially available.
Then there was the instance of Armatix’s smart handgun, which was mocked after a hacker demonstrated in 2017 that the safety mechanism could be bypassed with magnets.
While gun control groups have endorsed the smart gun concept, some experts argue that it remains a lethal weapon.
In a statement to AFP, Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, said, “The entire smart gun argument ignores the most prevalent method weapons are used to murder in the US – suicide by the person who bought the gun.”
Nonetheless, the technology appeals, particularly given that political polarisation looks to rule out any new federal gun limits in the near future.
Gareth Glaser, a co-founder of LodeStar, said the company has sought to remain out of the politics surrounding gun rights, and their product aims to do the same.
He described it as a “workaround.” “We’d rather the government remain out of it and let the consumer make the decision,” said the group.