Smart Guns and Gun Safety Features
Smart Guns and Gun Safety Features
What is the problem?
A personalized—or “smart”—gun is a firearm that employs authorized-use technology, like the thumb scan or passcode available on many smartphones, to turn stolen guns and guns accessed by children into harmless pieces of steel. If widely implemented, it would be a game-changer for keeping guns out of the hands of children and criminals.
Each year, more than 37,000 Americans die by gun—including more than 3,000 children and teens. There are an estimated 265 million civilian-owned firearms in the U.S., and more than one-third of homes contain at least one gun.
Authorized-use technology, as well as basic safety features like loaded chamber indicators, magazine safety disconnects, and other features designed to prevent a child from operating the gun, should be incorporated into new models of semiautomatic handguns to help prevent firearms from being unintentionally fired.
Despite the fact that guns are inherently dangerous, they are exempt from regulation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In addition, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) blocks legal responsibility for gun manufacturers that have failed to innovate and make guns safer.