Smart Guns Could Put An End To Accidental Shootings

Gun control is a hotly debated issue in the U.S., with opponents pointing to Americans' constitutional right to bear arms and supporters citing case after case of school shootings and accidental manslaughter.

Some firearms developers claim they have the answer to placate both sides, smart guns.

Child-proofing A Gun

A study by the Journal of Pediatrics showed that on average, 20 children are shot per day in the United States, with many of those deaths resulting from accidental firings.

But despite those figures, Americans' right to bear arms is unlikely to be revoked. Instead, some gun manufacturers are moving toward smart guns, or guns that are only able to be fired by the recognizable owner.

Smart Guns

Germany's Ernst Mauch designed one such gun, the Armatix iP1, a semiautomatic pistol that can only be shot by its owner.

The gun has a user recognition feature which only allows the firing pin to be released if it is within 10 inches of a special watch that omits a signal picked up by the firearm. The watch must first be unlocked using a five digit pin, much like a smartphone.

Other companies are designing similar firearms that recognize users based their fingerprints or grip, but these safety figures that guard against accidental use and theft face an uphill battle in becoming mandatory requirements for guns as both sides of the argument say smart guns are not the answer.

The Argument Against Smart Guns

Anti-gun activists say smart guns won't eliminate the real threat, which they say isn't guns themselves, but their owners. Proponents for gun rights say that this type of technology could be the first step in tightening gun control restrictions and claim that the recognition process could be unreliable.

Additionally, smart guns carry a hefty price tag— the iP1 costs $1,798.00. Many gun owners say that requiring guns to recognize their owners would make firearms inaccessible to much of the public.

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Questions About Reliability

These concerns are not unfounded, smart guns still have a long way to go before they can be considered a reliable way to make guns safer. Questions about battery life and functionality if the user is wearing gloves or has dirt on their hands are all reasonable concerns for responsible gun owners who believe that today's gun locks are still the safest way to keep accidental deaths from occurring.

Future Prospects

Still, many see the future of firearms evolving to include safer designs and bio-recognition technology.

As the digital age continues to grow, gun manufacturers will likely continue improving their smart features to meet the demands of the market and bring their prices down to a more affordable level.