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Smart Guns To Stop Mass Killings
New submitter Bugs42 writes "CNN.com has an opinion piece on the possibility of cramming guns full of computers and sensors to disable them in certain buildings or around children. The author, in true mainstream media fashion, completely fails to see any possible technical problems with this. Quoting: 'How might this work? Start with locational "self-awareness." Guns should know where they are and if another gun is nearby. Global positioning systems can meet most of the need, refining a gun's location to the building level, even within buildings. Control of the gun would remain in the hand of the person carrying it, but the ability to fire multiple shots in crowded areas or when no other guns are present would be limited by software that understands where the gun is being used. Guns should also be designed to sense where they are being aimed. Artificial vision and optical sensing technology can be adapted from military and medical communities. Sensory data can be used by built-in software to disable firing if the gun is pointed at a child or someone holding a child."
If I worked in a place with lots of catwalks, I might blame the lack of railings for workplace accidents. I do live in a place with lots of snow and ice. I blame the snow and ice for many traffic accidents. Inanimate objects (or their lack) can be dangerous. In places where there are fewer guns, there are generally fewer gun deaths, and fewer crime fatalities overall.
You're right though, the real problem is that Americans have the right to own and carry a gun. That leads to both a lot of guns and a complacent attitude about them. Owning, carrying and using a gun is a responsibility, and a serious one. That responsibility includes making sure you're trained to use (and not use) the gun, and making absolutely sure that nobody else has access to it.
There also seems to be the belief that Joe Random should be carrying a gun around and shooting down criminals if he sees them. Police are (or should be) extensively trained in when and how to use deadly force. Joe Random isn't.
Thanks. So it turns out the "bystander with a gun" was actually an off-duty cop himself. To me this says even a person with extensive training can make that mistake, and it seems likely that a civilian in the same situation would be even more apt to make that mistake.