The first so-called "smart gun" has hit the shelves at U.S. retail outlets, including one of the biggest firearms stores in California, according to the Washington Post.
The Smart System iP1, a .22-caliber pistol made by the German gun-maker Armatix GmbH, can only function with an accompanying wristwatch, which is sold separately.
When the RFID-equipped watch is activated by a PIN number and placed near the gun -- like when a shooter grips the handle -- it sends a signal to unlock the gun and a light on the back of the weapon turns green, according to the report. Otherwise, the firearm stays locked and the light on the back remains red, it stated.
The pistol sells for $1,399 and the watch retails for another $399 -- more than double the cost of .40-caliber Glock handgun, according to the article.
The company is betting that demand for the technology will increase as consumers seek guns modified for safety.
OK, here are my comments (Ignatius Piazza)...
Gun owners are not stupid, especially gun owners who are serious about using a gun to defend oneself or family and have taken any formal training. We all know that a gun is supposed to be dangerous. The fact that a gun is dangerous makes it a weapon to be respected by those who wield it and feared by those it is used against. Technology to make a gun safer and "smarter" by requiring the user to wear a watch to shoot it is utterly ridiculous for a long list of reasons. Here are a few...
1.As a CCW holder, do you want to have to wear a watch wherever you go so your gun will fire when you need it to fire?
2.Are you going to wear your watch to bed so if you hear breaking glass in the middle of the night, your gun will fire when you need it to fire?
3.If you don't have your watch on and need your gun, now you have to fumble around trying to find your watch and put it on before you can use your gun? "Honey, have you seen my gun watch?"
4. Even if you have your watch on and you have your gun, now you are relying on something electrical and wireless to "communicate" before your gun will fire. How are those universal remote controls working out for you? Yeah, me too! How many times do you have to hit the reset button on the WiFi in your house so everything that is wireless will connect smoothly? How often does your Internet network go down? How often do you have to restart your computer? I think you get my point.
5.What about the batteries that run the gun and run the watch? Just your luck that one or both have run low for that handgun you keep in the nightstand... on the night you need it most! What happens to the wireless headsets at Front Sight when the batteries start getting low? The headsets work intermittently. So what is the malfunction clearance drill for a "smart" gun with a low battery? Time out home invader! I have to change my "smart" gun battery!
6.What about your wife, or son or daughter who is home alone when the bad guys break in? "Damn it. Here's the gun but where's that watch? Johnny, you had the watch last! No I didn't, Dad did. Look in the garage! He was dry practicing there last night! HURRY!"
7.I could go on and on with scenario after scenario that shows what a DUMB idea the "smart gun" is, but the best reason to boycott "smart" guns is the fact that the anti-gunners love the idea of the "smart" gun. They like the fact that you will not be as dangerous (free, mobile, unobstructed, unrestricted, unleashed, and undeterred) when you are saddled with a "smart" gun. And for that reason alone you should never purchase one and allow this "answer in search of a question" gun, AKA "only the dumb will buy" gun, AKA "not so smart" gun to languish on the shelves of retailers foolish enough to stock them. "Not so smart" guns will die a quick death if we don't buy the BS. And that is what a "not so smart" gun is...BS.
8.And make sure you support all your pro-gun organizations who now have to fight the Gun Grabbers who will want to make "smart" guns mandatory, just like they pushed mandatory micro-stamping, and mandatory drop tests. Their false claims of needing such minutia for public safety is nothing more than a smoke screen for back door gun restrictions. When gun makers cannot comply with the additional tooling, or to do so drives their cost of manufacturing to the point they can no longer compete on the open market, the result is less and less "truly smart" guns on the market...the guns any member of your gun-trained family can pick up to shoot rapidly and reliably.
9.Isn't it interesting that we can no longer purchase new HK 91's or 93's or P7's or MP5's but our government thinks we will want these German POS "not so smart" guns, that can be communicated with remotely and "turned off" if needed? Hmmm. If those were the only type of guns during the Rodney King Riots or the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, or after the Boston Bombing or 9/11 do you think any of your guns would have been working? The government feels much safer in those situations when THEY are the only ones with the guns, but those smart Koreans on the roof tops of their buildings during the Rodney King Riots had the right technology for the situation at hand!
10.Notice lately how your "smart" phone is taken over with Amber Alerts in California? I never signed up for that, did you? If they can activate your "smart" phone when you never gave them your number, they can deactivate your "not so smart" gun when you need it most!
11.What about natural disasters, EMP's, solar flares, dirty bomb technology, etc. All the stuff that we are told will knock out electronics for months at a time? I know, I'm sounding like one of those "Preppers." Well, if anything does ever happen like that, throw your battery-operated crap away cause it's just gonna' slow you down. Iron sights will rule the new world!
12.I also find it interesting that the military and police aren't wearing gun watches and "smart" guns. If this was the latest and greatest technology, you'd think the government would have it first and NOT want us citizens to have it. Of course, the "smart" gun is not so smart and is just another way to control weapons and the people using them. The police and military know what "smart' guns are really for and so should you!
13.Have I hammered this "not so smart" gun enough for you to send this e-mail to everyone you know and encourage them to do the same? As gun owners, let's not be idiots. Friends don't let friends buy "not so smart" guns. If we don't educate the population, the government will and their idea of education is gun control, AKA people control. Say NO to the "not so smart" gun and let it die a quick death, collecting dust on the shelves of every retailer foolish enough to stock it.
Can't say I disagree with him, smart guns are just a dumb idea and like all those gizmos in cars, they will be relied upon too much instead of decent training.
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