I think we may have jumped the shark, folks. However, it's not a bad idea... sort of.
Legislation is soon going to be introduced to Congress that would mandate all handguns to come with, or be adapted to use, "smart" personal recognition technology. In other words, all gun manufacturers would be required to design weapons that only allow the authorized user to fire them. On top of that, within 10 years, all current guns would need to be retrofitted with this technology at the gun manufacturer's expense. Essentially, this bill would completely stop criminals and others not authorized to carry a firearm from shooting a gun.
Unfortunately for the the Congresswoman from New York, this technology just doesn't really exist yet.
When I first heard about the bill from Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), I had to read it over a few times. First, I was impressed gun manufacturers were going to be reimbursed by the government to retrofit all these guns. Secondly, I was impressed that technology existed to know the difference between good guys and bad guys and who is authorized or not. A prototype gun is allegedly in the works, but working models are rare and hard to come by.
Either way, if this handgun bill is passed, the following is what we are looking at, according to Rep. Maloney's own website.
The Handgun Trigger Safety Act
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Authorize grants to develop and improve "personalized" handgun technology to increase efficacy and decrease costs;
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Mandate that within five years of enactment all newly manufactured handguns must be personalized, ensuring that they can only be operated by authorized users;
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Mandate that within ten years of enactment anyone selling a handgun must retrofit it with personalization technology before that sale can be completed; and
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Provide reimbursement to manufacturers for the costs of retrofitting handguns through the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund.
Pretty interesting, no? Don't get me wrong, I'm all about smart guns. If they saves lives and aren't a backdoor attack against the Second Amendment, sign me up. Unfortunately, I get the feeling this bill is nothing more than placating to the gun-hating left. Now, they can tell their constituents that they tried to make the world a safer place.
Maybe one day when this technology is on par with the imaginations needed to create it, something could be worked out. Until then, we just need to stay in reality.
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