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"Smart" Gun Seller Gets the Wrong Kind of Online Attention

R3d M3rcury (871886) writes "How's this for a good idea? A gun that won't fire unless it's within 10 inches of a watch? That's the iP1 from Armatrix. Of course, don't try to sell it here in the United States." From the NY Times article linked: "[Armatrix employee] Belinda Padilla does not pick up unknown calls anymore, not since someone posted her cellphone number on an online forum for gun enthusiasts. Then someone snapped pictures of the address where she has a P.O. box and put those online, too. In a crude, cartoonish scrawl, this person drew an arrow to the blurred image of a woman passing through the photo frame. 'Belinda?" the person wrote. "Is that you?" ... "I have no qualms with the idea of personally and professionally leveling the life of someone who has attempted to profit from disarming me and my fellow Americans," one commenter wrote." The article paints a fairly rosy picture of the particular technology that Armatrix is pushing, but their ID-checking gun seems to default to an unfireable state, which might not always be an attractive feature. And given that at least one state — New Jersey — has hinged a gun law on the commercial availability of these ID-linked guns, it's not surprising that some gun owners dislike a company that advertises this kind of system as "the future of the firearm."

7 of 1,374 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Gun nuts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    "If you wish to live in community that heavily regulates firearms, then band together and do so - nothing restricts a locality/city/region from banning the things of their own initiative "

    Again for those that aren't Americans, and apparently some that are... The above statement is WRONG. Local laws MAY NOT supersede the constitution.

  2. Re:Gun nuts by Shakrai · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Constitution guarantees the right for citizens to keep and bear arms for the purposes of having a militia.

    The Supreme Court disagrees with that interpretation and says that the prefatory clause is not a limiting clause. This was the proper decision, given the context of "the people" in the 2nd Amendment, and for that matter every other mention of "the people" in the document and its amendments.

    --
    I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
    We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
  3. Re:Gun nuts by Noah+Haders · · Score: 4, Informative
    I'm lazy so I didn't look into this too much. But it fails even a cursory inspection. As to your Biden quote "Banning guns is an idea whose time has come". It is from this NYT article: http://www.nytimes.com/1993/11...>
    the article is about a law to ban the domestic manufacture (not sale or ownership) of assault rifles (the brady bill).

    But Senate supporters of the measure said they would apply whatever pressures they can muster on the House and called on constituents to write and call their representatives. "The House better understand the power of an idea whose time has come," said Senator Joseph R. Biden, the Delaware Democrat who heads the Judiciary Committee.

    surely you see the difference between a vote on the assault weapons ban and a vote to "ban guns". methinks you're being dishonest.

  4. Re:Gun nuts by StubNewellsFarm · · Score: 4, Informative

    Umm. The government has taken him to court, many times. The courts have ruled against Bundy repeatedly and demanded that he pay grazing fees and fines. He refuses to pay and says he doesn't recognize the authority of the US government. Washington and Hamilton (who I think count as Founders and had a good sense of the intended power of the government under the constitution) sent troops to Western PA to collect taxes on whiskey. Perhaps the government had other options that would have worked better, but the one they chose is well within the constitution and the history of this country.

  5. Re:A firearm that depends on a battery? by Agent0013 · · Score: 4, Informative

    People aren't very good about checking the condition of their gun either. Or if the safety is off.

    That's why it is nice to have a revolver with no safety.

    Or if it's loaded.

    That's why I keep it loaded. It isn't much use in a home invasion if it isn't loaded.

    Or if the kid didn't move it from the usual place when he showed it to his friends.

    That's why you teach your children how to use guns at a young enough age that they understand it isn't a toy and they don't touch it.

    There's already a lot of uncertainty. You can't be sure of anything if you don't take care of it. So no, a battery isn't an issue, it's another safety.

    Electronics fail, batteries die, the more complicated you make something, the less reliable it is. That's why a revolver makes a better home defense gun than one with a clip and a slide and a safety. Those guns jam and misfire much more often when left there untouched for a year or more than the much more simple mechanism in a plain revolver.

    --

    -- ssoorrrryy,, dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh oonn.. -Quote found on actual fortune cookie.
  6. Re:No, they are just nuts by sjames · · Score: 5, Informative

    Actually, the state of New Jersey already has a law on the books that once such a technology becomes generally available, it will become mandatory. So yes, in fact, someone IS forcing residents to buy that gun or no gun at all.

  7. Re:Gun nuts by Ksevio · · Score: 4, Informative

    Wrong, and here's why:..

    Those aren't really extreme points. Yet you're still arguing that he's wrong. Obviously in a house without a gun, there is a 0% chance of being shot by the owner's (non-existent) gun. Are you saying there's also a 0% chance in a house with a gun? Because in that case you're the one that's wrong. Gun statistics are often hard to come by because the NRA tries to de-fund any organization that tries to collect them, but I'm pretty sure I've seen in the news cases where people have accidentally been shot by a gun in their own home, or accidentally shot someone else thinking they are an intruder. That brings the chance up to > 0%.

    Guns are dangerous tools, designed to be dangerous and injure people. If you disagree, then you should DEFINITELY NOT be allowed to handle them because you'll probably end up killing someone. It's not comparable to automobiles that, while dangerous, are designed with safety in mind and useful for transporting people.

    Use a gun for its intended purpose = someone ends up dead
    Use a car for its intended purpose = someone ends up at the grocery store