Smart guns, dumb politics
Smart guns exist today. I bet people think that this is not the case, since you don't see a market in the U.S. for these guns. But, they have been around for years.
A "smart gun" will use finger print recognition (like an iPhone), or RFID where a user needs to wear a ring or watch that transmits the right code for the gun to work.
Obama said we need more spending on this technology. Based on that, most people would assume it is the lack of spending that keeps these guns from the market.
60 Minutes news program did a segment on smart-guns and highlighted the fact that it is politics that have stopped the adoption of smart-guns. If it weren't for a New Jersey law, we would have smart guns today. New Jersey passed a law in 2002 mandating that only smart guns be sold in the state within three years of a smart gun's sale anywhere in the United States. This basically shut down the sale of any smart-gun in the U.S. No gun dealer will risk being the dealer that triggers that law.
Simply Google the topic "Rockville, Maryland Smart Gun" to see the effect this law has. A federally licensed gun seller had offered the latest smart-gun technology and received 3000-plus calls and emails in one day that include simple education on the impact of selling that gun to death threats to him and his family.
Similar proposals have been introduced in California and Congress. This is the overreach that stops simple laws from being passed. There are many that do not want to rely on a battery to make their gun work and those people will never buy a smart-gun.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Richard Bolesta
Schaumburg