Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

60 Minutes Showcases "Smart" Guns Technology

Friday, November 6, 2015

60 Minutes Showcases "Smart" Guns Technology

You may be wondering why CBS 60 Minutes aired a segment on “smart” guns last Sunday. After all, a gun that will never work in the hands of an unauthorized person, but that will always work in the hands of everyone else hasn’t been invented. Even the segment’s reporter, Lesley Stahl, conceded that there are concerns about whether “smart” guns “work in snow and rain? Will they work if you`re sweating because an intruder entered your home? Could guns using wireless technology be hacked or jammed and disabled remotely by the government?”

There are other, similar concerns too. Would such technology work if, in a defensive situation, a gun were handed off to a family member or other ally? Or if the owner of the gun were wearing a glove? Or, for example, if a right-handed owner were injured and had to hold the gun in his or her left hand? Or whether the electronics would fail if the gun were dropped onto a hard surface. And the list goes on.

Nevertheless, Stahl says, “technology is seeping into every corner of our lives,” and she asks, “Why not guns?”Clearly, part of the answer to her question is that gun owners know that reliable “smart” gun technology has yet to be developed. Just as importantly, though, many gun owners know why gun control supporters are pushing “smart” guns.

For years, gun control supporters frustrated over their failure to convince Congress and state legislatures to ban handguns have been looking for indirect ways to accomplish their goal. A generation ago, they advocated that the Consumer Products Safety Commission be empowered to decide which firearms were safe enough to be permitted for sale, based upon the assumption that the commission would conclude that no handguns met that standard.

In 1994, the Violence Policy Center, formed and led by handgun prohibition advocate Josh Sugarmann, alternately advocated empowering the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives “to operate as a health and safety agency with the ability to set safety standards for firearms [and] restrict the availability of specific firearms, classes of firearms and firearm products [when] the products present an unreasonable risk of death or injury and no feasible safety standard would adequately reduce the risk.” Under such a regimen, the group said, “Handguns should be banned from future sale except for military and law-enforcement personnel.”

In 2000, Hillary Clinton signed on to the Democratic Leadership Council’s New Agenda for the New Decade, which called for policies to “Develop and require ‘smart gun’ technology to prevent use of firearms by unauthorized persons and implement sensible gun control measures.” (Emphasis added.) Mrs. Clinton is, of course, now running for president and has declared that gun control will be one of her priorities. Everytown for Gun Safety is on-board with the push for a “smart” gun requirement too, saying, “Smart guns are going to save lives . . . . [W]hy wouldn’t we want to make guns as safe a consumer product as possible?”

CBS recognizes that Congress and the states won’t limit the manufacture and sale of guns to those that possess “smart” technology unless the voters—many of whom are gun owners—want them to do so. With that in mind, Stahl asked, “Why not let the market decide?”

By one measure, at least, the market has decided. According to federal data, since 2000, when Mrs. Clinton endorsed a “smart” gun mandate, Americans have bought approximately 150 million newly-manufactured firearms of conventional type, and annual purchases of conventional firearms have more than tripled. (Estimate for 2015 based upon figures for the first 10 months of the year.)

While Stahl suggested that “smart” guns are not available for sale because they’re opposed by the NRA, the NRA doesn’t oppose “smart” gun technology per se. Rather, it has always opposed prohibiting the sale and possession of firearms that don’t possess the technology.

Ironically, some of the strongest objections to “smart” guns have been raised by the anti-gun Violence Policy Center. It contends that “[m]aking smart guns available could increase the chances of selling guns to Americans who currently do not own them.” The group further contends that “such technology would have no effect on “straw purchases” of guns,” which it describes as “the most common method used to obtain guns illegally” and which, we would add, is one of the reasons that background checks don’t stop criminals from obtaining guns.

TRENDING NOW
New York’s Ammunition Background Check System: An Expensive Wreck?

Gun Laws  

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

New York’s Ammunition Background Check System: An Expensive Wreck?

The F-35 stealth jet isn’t the only example of expensive technology that crashed recently. The implementation of New York’s ammunition background check law – the rollout of which was, to be generous, extremely low visibility – was ...

Biden Creates New Office to Funnel Taxpayer Funds to Gun Control Advocacy

Gun Laws  

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

Biden Creates New Office to Funnel Taxpayer Funds to Gun Control Advocacy

Professional gun control advocates have always had a seat at the table in the Biden White House. Now, however, they will not only sit at the table but determine its menu, set it, and compile ...

Seeking Attention, Not Solutions in New Mexico

News  

Monday, September 25, 2023

Seeking Attention, Not Solutions in New Mexico

After several weeks of the abject failure of New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s (D) attempt to suspend constitutional rights in her state, there are a number of theories as to what, exactly, she was ...

Massachusetts: Update on Proposed Sweeping Gun Control

Monday, July 17, 2023

Massachusetts: Update on Proposed Sweeping Gun Control

Late last month, Massachusetts politicians put forth HD 4420, “an act modernizing firearm laws.” This massive piece of legislation re-writes gun laws in the Commonwealth and imposes unprecedented gun-control.

Changes Coming Soon for New York State Gun Owners

News  

Monday, August 21, 2023

Changes Coming Soon for New York State Gun Owners

There are some significant changes due to take effect early next month in the Empire State.

Grassroots Spotlight: New Mexicans Rally to Oppose Gun Control

Take Action  

Monday, September 25, 2023

Grassroots Spotlight: New Mexicans Rally to Oppose Gun Control

New Mexico rallied in solidarity to defend the Second Amendment! On Saturday, September 16th, your NRA-ILA Grassroots team and 100 law-abiding New Mexicans gathered at Calibers Shooting Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and spoke out “on ...

Update: New Mexico Governor’s Unconstitutional Carry Ban Temporarily Halted, NRA Files Suit

News  

Monday, September 18, 2023

Update: New Mexico Governor’s Unconstitutional Carry Ban Temporarily Halted, NRA Files Suit

On September 8, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Grisham (D) surprised her political opponents and allies when the politician purported to suspend the U.S. and New Mexico constitutions and state statute using a “public health emergency ...

Massachusetts: 2A Rally in Boston Commons, on September 27th

Friday, September 22, 2023

Massachusetts: 2A Rally in Boston Commons, on September 27th

Gun Owners’ Action League (GOAL) will be holding a rally against HD 4420 “an act modernizing firearm laws,” on Wednesday, September 27th.  NRA members and Second Amendment right supporters are encouraged to join the rally ...

NRA Slams Gov. Newsom's Latest Assault on Second Amendment

Gun Laws  

Second Amendment  

News  

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

NRA Slams Gov. Newsom's Latest Assault on Second Amendment

The National Rifle Association released the following statement on California Gov. Newsom's signing of gun control: "The NRA condemns the legislation enacted by Gov. Newsom. It is a blatant and egregious attack on the rights ...

When the rubber hits the road: Anti-police activist does U-turn after being carjacked

News  

Monday, September 18, 2023

When the rubber hits the road: Anti-police activist does U-turn after being carjacked

Three years ago, the “defund the police” movement got its start in Minneapolis, MN. A number of leftist politicians wasted no time in jumping on the bandwagon, along with a bunch of Hollywood celebrities – all of whom thought it was a ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.