US must invest in 'smart guns' to reduce avoidable deaths, activists say

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Campaigners against gun violence are urging the president and Eric Holder, the attorney general, to take far-reaching executive action by naming the government as a pioneer customer of the kinds of weapons that feature fingerprint-, palm print- or radio signal-activated security systems.

Orders from police departments would also help so-called “smart guns” catch on with manufacturers and consumers, they said, in the same way the widespread use of Glock pistols by police officers has made the Austrian brand wildly popular with the gun-buying US public.

“The technology is here; it’s not science fiction any more,” said Joel Mosbacher, a leading member of the Metro Industrial Areas Foundation, a network of community organizations that has stricter gun safety among its goals.

Smart or “personalized” firearms would largely prevent the common tragedies of children accidentally shooting themselves or others with their parents’ guns, or criminals firing a stolen gun, whether the weapon was burgled, trafficked or snatched from the holster of a police officer, said Mosbacher.

In the latter case, personalized guns would also undermine the rationale for police officers shooting unarmed civilians who try to grab their sidearm.

more...
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/15/us-invest-smart-guns-eric-holder



earlier Gun Rights Extremists Threaten Maryland Business Over Smart Gun








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