Americans Still View Smart Guns as Dumb Option

After Maryland’s Engage Armament announced the sale of the Armatix iP1 smart gun on May 1 only to rescind the decision on May 2 due to the public outcry, it was clear Americans still view smart guns as a dumb option for preserving life and liberty.

California’s Oak Tree Gun Club faced the same public outcry and reversed course after they announced plans to sell smart guns as well.

Smart guns are viewed as a dumb option for protecting life because the operating systems for such guns actually limits their usefulness in this area. And these limitations raise questions that remain unanswered. 

For example, what happens when a gun programmed to fire only in the hand of a certain father cannot be fired by his wife or 17-year-old son in the event that a home invader gets in the house and kills the father before he can react? 

Or in the usage of smart guns where the gun fires only when in close proximity to a watch or bracelet, what happens when a thief steals the smart gun and the bracelet? Or the smart gun and the watch? 

As National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Lawrence Keane points out, if Adam Lanza’s mom had had a watch to make her guns operable  “[Adam Lanza] presumably would have had access to that.” So instead of simply carrying out his heinous acts with a gun in his hand he would have a had a smart watch on his wrist as well. 

Smart guns are viewed as a dumb option for protecting liberty because they play into the hands of anti-gun advocates.

As Breitbart News reported on May 2, there is already a 2002 law on the books in New Jersey that makes it clear that once a viable smart gun is available for retail sale then smart guns are all that will be legal in New Jersey. The law says: “No other type of handgun shall be sold or offered for sale by any registered or licensed firearm dealer in this State.”

In other words, once smart guns on are the market New Jersey citizens will be forced to buy only those. 

Being forced to buy a gun that will not fire a life-saving round unless you are wearing the right watch just seems antithetical to liberty. 

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins  Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.