Smart guns finally poised to change U.S. gun market? (Uh, no thanks)

CBSNews ^

[Red in Blue PA]

Whether gun rights advocates like it or not, smart guns are the future says Silicon Valley investor Ron Conway

"Smart guns" that only their owners can fire are not new. And yet, these guns are not mass-produced or sold in the United States, in part because of fears they are a backdoor to greater gun control. But that's going to change says one of Silicon Valley's most prominent entrepreneurs who champions the hi-tech firearms. Lesley Stahl reports on smart guns, firearms advocates believe can lower the number of accidental shootings and suicides in the U.S., on the next edition of 60 Minutes, Sunday, November 1 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Smart weapons recognize their owners' fingerprints or hand grip, or unlock when they wirelessly interact with a special watch or ring worn by the shooter. Ron Conway, an early investor in Google and Facebook who has funded 15 smart-gun projects, says he's looking for the Mark Zuckerberg of guns. He thinks the market is ripe for disruption. "This is going to happen outside the gun industry. Why they aren't doing research and investing in this baffles me," says Conway.

So why can't you buy a smart gun in the United States today? One reason is gun-shop owners won't sell them. When one Maryland dealer announced he would try to sell one smart gun he was immediately attacked with email and phone call threats by people who believed that he could have triggered a New Jersey ban on regular handguns that don't possess smart-gun technology.

[Red in Blue PA]

Gun shops will not sell them because people like me will NEVER buy them. Not in a million years.

[Objective Scrutator]

After smart funs, the next thing the liberals would try to do is force us all to become cyborgs. We wouldn’t be allowed to move our body parts without a product key.

[RightOnTheBorder]

All government employees should only be allowed to use smart guns, yah know, for their safety.

[BuffaloJack]

Nothing like having you life depending on a dead battery, because the gun hasn’t been used in a year.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

The German Smart System iP1, .22 caliber, was selling for $1500. That’s 3 times what I paid for my S&W 9mm.

Tough sell.

[MortMan]

Smart guns are an eminently stupid idea.

[NFHale]

When Cops and FedAlphabet Agencies start using them - and trusting THEIR lives to them...

...Me and several million other Americans will still be using our old fashioned dumb guns.

Good luck.

[RatRipper]

You mean a smart gun that the government can shut down by satellite based on its registration information?

No thanks. Not available when it may be needed the most.

[Bubba_Leroy]

I have several smart guns. They will not fire unless I load them and pull the trigger.

We are repeatedly told that guns kill people. All of my guns are smart enough that so far they never have killed anyone.

[Myrddin]

It's a stupid idea. Especially the fingerprint recognition variety. My fingerprints are very hard to scan electronically. I needed a CAC card for work with my customer. The card requires a good thumbprint. It took 40 minutes on good equipment with a skilled operator to get a satisfactory print. Try that with a "smart gun". You're dead in seconds with a defective paper weight. No thanks. My toys work reliably and correctly. The smarts is tied up in the operator.

[circlecity]

Wouldn’t take one if they gave it to me

[DoughtyOne]

I agree. I don’t want one either.

[Iron Munro]

“Smart Guns”

Will they work as well as this government’s “Smart Diplomacy”?

[Iron Munro]

Gun shops will not sell them because people like me will NEVER buy them. Not in a million years.

Imagine how the value of our old fashion "Dumb Guns" and "Dumb Ammo" will skyrocket.

[CodeToad]

Only to a liberal is an object “smart”.

[Brad from Tennessee]

[The German Smart System iP1, .22 caliber, was selling for $1500. That’s 3 times what I paid for my S&W 9mm.]

Besides the high retail price I’m wondering how durable are the electronics built into this pistol? What does it cost to repair this thing when the chip or circuitry goes bad? Where can you find a gunsmith familiar with this thing? Most firearms are built to last decades. This thing is more like a household appliance in its durability and service life.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

It has no history. It might last 6 months then be impossible to fire.

[Billthedrill]

I'm for free choice and a free market, which this could fall under and unfortunately does not. If people want a gun that's far more expensive and less reliable, they'll be free to buy them. If that were all there was to it.

It isn't likely to happen, and the reason is that the gun owner community has been correct all along: this was just a method of restricting their options, not adding to them. It was, in short, a subterfuge and a lie. Anyone who has been dealing with the gun prohibitionists at all knew this from the beginning.

[Feckless]

My guns are smart. I pull the trigger, they go boom. Genius.

[digger48]

Only if it is voice activated and includes features like Dredds Lawgiver...

Standard execution
Heat Seeker or Hot Shot
Ricochet
Incendiary
Armour Piercing
High-Explosive

...and blows the arm off of any thug who tries to use it