Determine who can pull the trigger.. “Smart” pistols enter the US arms market
"Smart" pistols designed to determine who can pull the trigger are entering the booming US gun market this year, aimed at limiting the number of firearm victims, as federal lawmakers face an impasse over gun regulation.
The technology's usefulness and reliability, as well as the political battles over gun regulation, have been controversial for decades, but its proponents say it's an opportunity to prevent children, criminals and people with self-harm tendencies from pulling the trigger.
But will buyers buy these smart weapons?
Will technology succeed in the real world and provide more safety?
They are two questions that may remain without a definitive answer for years.
"I can't tell if (smart guns) will be positive or negative, or if they will experience the same failure as other smart weapons in the past," said Adam Skaggs, senior advisor and policy director at Giffords' Anti-Proliferation Group.
The system, offered by entrepreneur Tom Holland's company SmartGuns, uses RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Cards) chips, similar to the badges many people use in their cars to pay electronic tolls, embedded inside rings.
When the owner of the weapon holds his gun in his hand, he places a connected ring in it, a safety mechanism opens, enabling him to fire.
Holland has designed the technology especially for police officers who fear a suspect will seize their gun and parents who fear their children will find and use their firearms.
"It's just about gun safety," Holland told AFP. "For buyers who want a 'safer weapon'... they can get these smart guns if they feel an urgent need to protect themselves."
Holland expects to start selling his pistols, which he said are being tested by police across the United States, to civilians by April or May.
A community with guns
About 40 percent of American adults live in a home with guns, according to the Pew Research Center.
Firearms sales hit a record high in 2020, with nearly 23 million units sold, according to the consultancy Small Arms Analytics & Forecasting.
The COVID-19 pandemic and protests against racial discrimination contributed to a sharp rise in homicides in 2020, with rates still below the peak of the 1990s.
The shootings in schools and in public places also attracted strong attention to the topic, but more than half of the gun deaths, which amounts to about 40,000 annually, are suicides.
The authentication system is a physical barrier against accidents, suicides and crime, but also a psychological one, said Ginger Chandler, co-founder of smart arms maker Lodestar Works.
"In a moment of tension, the authorized person picks up the firearm, but they have to take that extra step that gives them time to think, 'Do I really want to do this?'" she explained.
And her company is developing a 9mm pistol that will be available on the market by 2023, which can be activated in three ways: via an application loaded on the phone, using a secret code or via a fingerprint sensor.
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