The Smart Gun is Here
- Thread starter KyJim
- Start date
The old saying was "Scratch a German and you will find a Nazi" ...I am not sure that is true anymore.
Disclosure: I am ethnicnally German, born in Germany though my parents were US citizens.
It is worth noting that German personal privacy laws are superior to those in the US -which for all intents has none since the 4th Amendment has been gutted to irrelevance. Angela Merckle was, by all reports, TRULY in high dudgeon having her calls intercepted by the NSA - this was just not political theater on her part.
I think the lessons of WWI and WWII, along with the Marshall plan, truly changed the thinking of the people.
What I have NOT seen in smart gun technology is anyone throwing out the idea of an implantable chip IN THE HUMAN. We chip dogs and horses all the time with no ill effects.
Key the weapon to the chip, then the only issue you have is actually making the thing work.
This would be easier if guns were electrically-fired and not mechanically...but details, details...
Yes, the goal of ALL smart gun discussions is to limit weapon access so politicians can feel good, but we WILL have a smart gun mandate at some point, so we may as well throw out concepts we can at least live with if not embrace.
Oh, yeah, don't sell off your old-school dumb guns...
Key the weapon to the chip, then the only issue you have is actually making the thing work.
This would be easier if guns were electrically-fired and not mechanically...but details, details...
Yes, the goal of ALL smart gun discussions is to limit weapon access so politicians can feel good, but we WILL have a smart gun mandate at some point, so we may as well throw out concepts we can at least live with if not embrace.
Oh, yeah, don't sell off your old-school dumb guns...
Spats McGee
Administrator
I'm. Not. Getting. Chipped.SpareMag said:
No way, no how. I don't care if it can be done to dogs and horses.
Besides, if the gun is keyed to my chip, what if my wife and daughter need my gun when I'm not home?
The logic is flawed with that concept too. The gun worked before the tech, so parts will be available to make it work after the tech is installed
And it would have to do done by a smith. There's not exactly a glut of them
And then there's the guns that would no longer be safe with this tech because of the retrofit. Hell, my State laws might be such that the retrofit is illegal, due to testing requirements.
And then there's the fact that my collector items are devalued by it. But really, who cares about my personal property anyway.
While not a perfect comparison, I think some things do apply:
No military vehicle designed for field use requires a key to operate. Now, just why do you think that is?
(they may be secured under lock & key, but they don't need a key to start and run)
Any kind of "authorized user only" system, be it "smart" or dumb (trigger lock) is a BAD idea in some circumstances. And I believe that those circumstances are much more common for most users than those situations where such a system is actually a good idea.
And an "authorized user only" system that you cannot disable is the worst of all.
No military vehicle designed for field use requires a key to operate. Now, just why do you think that is?
(they may be secured under lock & key, but they don't need a key to start and run)
Any kind of "authorized user only" system, be it "smart" or dumb (trigger lock) is a BAD idea in some circumstances. And I believe that those circumstances are much more common for most users than those situations where such a system is actually a good idea.
And an "authorized user only" system that you cannot disable is the worst of all.
We have had more than our fare share of customers come in with trigger locks that either got stuck or they lost the keys to, for us to drill them off.
I got into the habit of keeping a torsion wrench and "S" rake in one of m desk drawers, those little locks are pretty quick with a simple rake.
I got into the habit of keeping a torsion wrench and "S" rake in one of m desk drawers, those little locks are pretty quick with a simple rake.
jersurf101
New member
The more complicated techno junk you put in something the less reliable it will be. I have no interest in an over priced "smart" pistol.
Absolutely I agree, and it was mentioned earlier
Think about this- even with fingerprint ID, somebody only has to have grips that fit your pistol and have them set up for their fingerprint. Doesn't even have to be hacked!
It's like some old Chrysler cars- crooks went to junkyards, got ignition cylinders, broke into cars, installed their cylinder, turned their key that fit their cylinder, and drove your car away.
Glenn E. Meyer
New member
Remember when Uncle Mike's was advertising a fingerprint recognition holster?
See any now?
That's a hint.
Interestingly, in A.E. Van Vogt's Weapon Shops of Isher series which promoted civilian energy weapons to resist tyranny, the guns sold were individualized. This was because they were far superior to goverment guns and they didn't want government agents to get the tech.
See any now?
That's a hint.
Interestingly, in A.E. Van Vogt's Weapon Shops of Isher series which promoted civilian energy weapons to resist tyranny, the guns sold were individualized. This was because they were far superior to goverment guns and they didn't want government agents to get the tech.
Since "smart guns" do border on science fiction, its fair to look at some in SF for ideas and examples.
First, in science fiction, they always seem to work.
One interesting idea was used in the Lost in Space movie.
In it, the guns were "voice activated". And the guns could be told who was authorized to use them. One part of the plot involves DR Smith (who wasn't on the list) convincing young Will to tell his gun to authorize "any" user, and so, the bad guy gets his hands on a gun that will work for him...
So, here is the idea of voice print recognition, along with the gun being able to store a list of authorized users. This is head and shoulders above the fingerprint ID system in several ways. First, the multiple users ability, and second, not having to grip the gun in just the right way, being able to use gloves, etc., and its better than a watch or some other separate item that could be lost, damaged, or simply malfunction.
Of course, there are drawbacks to that as well. So it would only be good sense to include a silent means of id for the gun, as well.
Current and near future tech isn't reliable enough, but in 100 years? who knows?
First, in science fiction, they always seem to work.
One interesting idea was used in the Lost in Space movie.
In it, the guns were "voice activated". And the guns could be told who was authorized to use them. One part of the plot involves DR Smith (who wasn't on the list) convincing young Will to tell his gun to authorize "any" user, and so, the bad guy gets his hands on a gun that will work for him...
So, here is the idea of voice print recognition, along with the gun being able to store a list of authorized users. This is head and shoulders above the fingerprint ID system in several ways. First, the multiple users ability, and second, not having to grip the gun in just the right way, being able to use gloves, etc., and its better than a watch or some other separate item that could be lost, damaged, or simply malfunction.
Of course, there are drawbacks to that as well. So it would only be good sense to include a silent means of id for the gun, as well.
Current and near future tech isn't reliable enough, but in 100 years? who knows?
Almost always. In Scalzi's Old Man's War series, the standard infantry rifle is keyed to the individual user. At one point, the bad guy hacks the neural network, and the rifles become useless.
And that's the problem. Anything can be hacked, and often is with alarming regularity and speed. There's a very active and lucrative black market for so-called zero-day exploits in software, and I've no doubt that the market would pounce on the opportunity to hack "smart gun" technology.
Imagine a given technology being used to arm large police departments, or our military. Now imagine an enemy being able to hack and neutralize that technology. No thanks.
Who knows, perhaps in a few years a little pin in the grip frame will prick the holder and check the user's DNA profile. Evidently, a gene sequencer on a USB stick is practically ere.
Well, there you go. Convicted felons will have a tag in their DNA file, so each smart gun will know they can't be authorized users. OF course, each gun will have to be able to communicate with the central database, and be updated, for that to work.
And, once you get that, then hacking the system will bring down ALL the guns...
We have such good times to look forward to....
Glenn E. Meyer
New member
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...544-11e3-a5fa-55f0c77bf39c_story.html?hpid=z4
Seems the store, clueless, was surprised by the opposition to its support of this smart gun. The owner wanted to revolutionize gun ownership and help come to a compromise between pro and antis.
As usual - they do not see the risk of such accessories being mandated by legislation.
In the abstract, sure - if you want such - buy it. BUT - we know that such mechanism are a large ploy to limit gun ownership. The didn't see that.
Seems the store, clueless, was surprised by the opposition to its support of this smart gun. The owner wanted to revolutionize gun ownership and help come to a compromise between pro and antis.
As usual - they do not see the risk of such accessories being mandated by legislation.
In the abstract, sure - if you want such - buy it. BUT - we know that such mechanism are a large ploy to limit gun ownership. The didn't see that.
And, certainly 1000X easier to circumvent than building a machine gun. So, once again, criminals will just snip the wire and have undocumented access to firearms; and law abiding citizens will be threatened with 10,000 years in jail for modifying the smart gun that tracks the owner.