New “Smart Guns” Fire Only For Owners, Might Mean Stricter Laws

“Anti-gun, anti-freedom states will use this as a preface for gun control.”

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In the film Skyfall, James Bond’s new quartermaster gives him a personalized weapon that only he can fire. “Smart guns” aren’t just science fiction – they have been a reality for some time. High costs, however, have prevented them from becoming widely available.

Yet the prices of smart guns are increasingly low. The Washington Post reports that Kodiak Arms’ Intelligun accessory is available for $465. That’s less the cost of the Glock 19 9mm – one of the most popular weapons in America – which costs around $600.

The American release of the Armatix iP1, a German smart gun now on California shelves, has ignited new debate over these weapons. The gun will only fire in the presence of a waterproof watch worn by its owner.

Some gun rights advocates strongly caution against the use of smart guns. “Our general approach is ‘caveat emptor,’” Gun Owners of America spokesman Michael Hammond told The Libertarian Republic.

“Say you wake up in the middle of the night, a situation my brother was in, and there is a drug addict standing over your bed. If you reach for your smart gun, and either you don’t have your watch on because you were asleep, or you have your watch on but the smart gun doesn’t turn green, then you’re dead.”

Hammond makes a powerful argument. “Are you willing to stake your life on a new technology?”

Gun rights activists are also deeply troubled by the legislative consequences of smart guns. “Our concern isn’t that people who want the thing shouldn’t have a right to have it,” said Hammond, but that “very, very, anti-gun, anti-freedom states will use this as a preface for gun control.”

Sure enough New Jersey passed a law in 2002 promising to ban all traditional weapons three years after the first smart gun becomes available anywhere in the US. The new availability of smart guns means that the law will soon take effect.

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