Slashdot Mirror


Company Creates Gun That Looks Like a Cellphone (nbcnews.com)

Earthquake Retrofit writes: Sometimes you want to carry your gun in peace, but people keep drawing attention to your piece. This very issue plagued Kirk Kjellberg, the creator of Ideal Conceal, a [.380-caliber pistol] that folds up to look like a smartphone. "A boy spotted me in [a] restaurant and said loudly, 'Mommy, Mommy, that guy's got a gun!' And then pretty much the whole restaurant stared at me," Kjellberg told NBC News. He developed Ideal Conceal to avoid those awkward situations. According to NBC News, "In locked position, the two-shot plastic gun with a metal core can be discreetly slipped into pockets, like a real phone. But 'with one click of the safety it opens and is ready to fire,' Ideal Conceal claims. The Department of Homeland Security has contacted him about the pistol, and he plans on giving them x-rays of it so law enforcement can distinguish it from cellphones during airport screenings. An Ideal Conceal prototype is slated for June, with sales beginning in October. The gun is listed for $395."

40 of 678 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Trying to get shot? by pushing-robot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No, he's trying to get everyone who carries a mobile phone shot.

    --
    How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
  2. Re:Trying to get shot? by Greyfox · · Score: 5, Funny

    No problem! We can just create a cell phone that looks like a gun, so the cops can tell the difference!

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  3. I don't appreciate by mhkohne · · Score: 5, Insightful

    giving all those idiots who say 'I thought it was a gun' extra excuses.

    --
    A thousand pounds of wood moving at 300 feet per minute. Don't get in the way.
  4. Apple? by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    iShoot

    1. Re:Apple? by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Funny

      iShoot

      uMiss

      --
      I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
  5. Re:Trying to get shot? by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Interesting

    No problem! We can just create a cell phone that looks like a gun, so the cops can tell the difference!

    Recently the TSA stopped a woman from wearing gun themed shoes throug Baltimore airport.

    TSA Stops Passenger With Gun-Shaped Shoes at Baltimore Airport

    --
    I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
  6. I don't want to live in this planet anymore by Edis+Krad · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "A boy spotted me in [a] restaurant and said loudly, 'Mommy, Mommy, that guy's got a gun!'

    So instead of thinking "maybe I shouldn't carry a weapon when I go to a family restaurant", his first reaction was "How can I hide it better?".

    Faith in humanity: Lost.

    1. Re:I don't want to live in this planet anymore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      You need to look up the Luby's incident in Kileen, Texas.

    2. Re:I don't want to live in this planet anymore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      14 people killed by "terrorists", 14,000 killed by americans.

      Statistically you are more likely to be killed by someone you know, family, neighbour, work colleague than by a stranger and a LOT more likely to b killed by an american than by a terrorist.

      If you are scared of ISIS, then you should be terrified of vending machines, because each year they kill more americans.

    3. Re:I don't want to live in this planet anymore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      What if your family, friends, and colleagues are vending machines?!

    4. Re:I don't want to live in this planet anymore by cyn1c77 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "A boy spotted me in [a] restaurant and said loudly, 'Mommy, Mommy, that guy's got a gun!'

      So instead of thinking "maybe I shouldn't carry a weapon when I go to a family restaurant", his first reaction was "How can I hide it better?".

      Faith in humanity: Lost.

      What is particularly depressing is that most people:
      1. Think it is OK for a police officer to carry a gun into a family restaurant.
      2. Are probably willing to accept that criminals may also illegally carrying concealed weapons in that restaurant.
      3. Cannot deal with a private citizen legally carrying a firearm in public.

    5. Re:I don't want to live in this planet anymore by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Fuck it, I've got karma to burn.

      It's a lot like the anti-vaccine crowd. They think not getting vaccinated makes them safer, but actually the stats say the opposite. Worse still, it makes the people around them less safe too. But it's their right not to be forcefully medicated.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  7. A derringer as a concealed carry? by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No thanks. It's not like it's hard to conceal carry already. Plus only 2 rounds.... I'll stick with my 7 rounds of 9mm that is not that hard to carry out of view.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  8. Re:Trying to get shot? by Lumpy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    https://www.google.com/search?...

    Already ahead of you....

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  9. Re:Trying to get shot? by Jason+Levine · · Score: 5, Funny

    Are you trying to get shot? Because that is how you get shot...

    ...By grabbing the wrong "phone" and taking a selfie.

    --
    My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  10. Title II Any Other Weapon? by blindseer · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'd think that this gun would fall under the BATFE classification as "any other weapon" under Title II, making it very difficult to purchase in most states. It is a gun designed to not look like a gun, which even if it was allowed by federal law would make it prohibited as a "zip gun" or some other designation by state law.

    I believe that the problem is the hopolophobes can't stand the idea of people being armed for their own defense. Disguising weapons to look like something else is only going to make their phobia worse.

    I also believe that this is an inevitable development. People have been looking for ways to conceal their ability to defend themselves for many reasons for many years. Swords and guns that look like canes are not a new idea. There have been pocket pistols that look like pocket watches since the Civil War, if not earlier. With technologies like 3D printing getting cheaper and more widely available ideas like this will be easier to implement and more difficult for law enforcement to control.

    Not I new idea, far from it. What is new, I suppose, is that this guy wants to market it at a time and place where they've been effectively banned for a century. The laws are changing though. Expect the BATFE to either throw a fit over this or make some ruling that will open the flood gates on guns like this again.

    AOW reference:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    Another thing, concealed carry is getting popular. Nine states in the USA now have provisions in law that do not prohibit concealed carry without first obtaining government permission.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    --
    I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    1. Re:Title II Any Other Weapon? by Toshito · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I believe that the problem is the hopolophobes can't stand the idea of people being armed for their own defense.

      No, what I believe is that 90% of humans are complete and utter morons, who can't be trusted with a firearm. They are irrationnal, moody, have mental problems (depression, mood swings, anxiety, are religious nuts, etc.)

      Having a firearm at home is ok with me, but carrying it everywhere is a bad idea.

      I don't know where you live, but if I lived somewhere where I would need a weapon on me at all times to feel safe, I would move out of there as soon as I could.

      In fact I'm in my mid forties and so far I've never been in a situation where I needed a firearm on me. And nobody I know (friends, family, coworkers) ever talked to me about a time in their lives when they used, needed or would have needed to have a firearm on them to save their lives or get out of a bad situation.

      Still, a lot of them (including me) have firearms at home for hunting, or target shooting. So we're not anti-guns wackos.

      --
      Try it! Library of Babel
    2. Re:Title II Any Other Weapon? by twotacocombo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I don't trust myself to carry a gun, because I'm an ordinary citizen without any training, and I don't want to carry the HUGE responsability that goes with the gun. I can get angry, I can loose my temper, I can take irrationnal decisions, and get scared for the wrong reasons, and all those things can get really interesting when you add a gun to the mix.

      Ordinary citizens are exactly what the 2nd amendment applies to. Do you think cops aren't ordinary citizens, who happen to wear a uniform and carry a gun for their job? Many cops can't even hit the broad side of a barn, and have serious impulse control issues as well. It's time we stop pretending that they're infallible super humans, and that the rest of us aren't capable of carrying a gun without murdering someone. There are many training programs available to us lowly civilians; my county requires training before issuing a CCW, and there's nothing stopping us from getting more afterwards. It's actually a growing industry in these parts.

      I do agree with your statement that is is a huge responsibility to carry in public. If you don't want that responsibility, or feel that you can't live up to it, then by all means please do not carry. I can support that 100%. However, please don't look down on those who do decide to carry as if we're not worthy of the right because you think we can't handle it either. I know a shit ton of people who can't drive, and are dangerous on the road, but I won't be the one crusading to get everyone off the streets because one of them might wind up killing me. It's just part of the risks of being alive and leaving the house. You're far more likely to be hit by someone on their cellphone than by a random stranger shooting you, especially a CCW holder.

  11. Re:If you've got it why hide it? by ScentCone · · Score: 5, Informative

    Street crime in Florida dropped precipitously immediately following that state's concealed carry law allowing non-criminals to be armed. It wasn't because all the criminals suddenly went back to school and got really caught up in their French Literature studies.

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  12. Re:Trying to get shot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is a parody, right?

    The shooting occurred shortly after 2:30 p.m. after the man set off an alarm while going through a metal detector and "drew what appeared to be a weapon and pointed it at a police officer," Capitol Police Chief Matthew Verderosa said.

    http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us...

  13. Slice Statistics by Okian+Warrior · · Score: 5, Interesting

    14 people killed by "terrorists", 14,000 killed by americans.

    Statistically you are more likely to be killed by someone you know, family, neighbour, work colleague than by a stranger and a LOT more likely to b killed by an american than by a terrorist.

    If you are scared of ISIS, then you should be terrified of vending machines, because each year they kill more americans.

    Since we're talking statistics, and since I do statistics for my day job, I'd like to point out the OUTRIGHT FALLACY of citing what I call "slice" statistics.

    "Slice" statistics are statistics that only look at a "slice" of the problem, and are used to make an emotional argument in the mind of the reader. For example, if you own a gun it's much more likely that someone in your family will get shot.

    While that may be true, it's not the right statistic to look at.

    For example: countries that ban guns have a lower incidence of gun deaths.

    That may also be true, and again it's not the right statistic to look at.

    The right statistic is this: if you own guns, will your (and your family's) average lifespan be longer or shorter?

    This is the one statistic to look at. If most family shootings are suicides *and* the person would have committed suicide anyway, then this statistic will sort it out. If you catch pneumonia because you got robbed and had to put off buying a winter coat, but your neighbour scared away an intruder and wasn't robbed... then lifespan will detect this as well.

    Lifespan is affected by many things, and comparing, for example America with the UK (or another modern nation) won't work because the UK has excellent health care.

    Instead, compare roughly similar areas in the US that have easy access to guns and harsh restrictions. Compare NH to Illinois or Houston to Washington, DC.

    Let's see some real statistics here, not the "it's more likely that someone you know will kill you" crap.

    1. Re:Slice Statistics by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The right statistic is this: if you own guns, will your (and your family's) average lifespan be longer or shorter?

      If you own guns, it means that you can afford guns, which means that you have money. As someone who does "statistics for my day job", you sure don't seem to have a grasp of how to use statistics.

      People with money live longer.

      You would also find that people who drive Mercedes Benz automobiles have longer lifespans than those who don't.

      The only statistic that matters is this: If you own a gun, are you and your family more or less likely to die by a gun? The answer to that one is known. Here's another: If you own a gun, is your toddler more or less likely to be killed in a gun accident? Also, If you own a gun, are you more or less likely to kill yourself?

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:Slice Statistics by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "If I own drain cleaner, is my toddler more or less likely to be killed by ingesting it?"

      You see, though, I can unclog my drains and take care to keep the drain cleaner in a secured cabinet. I don't have to throw up my hands in dismay and just accept that I have to live with a clogged drain I can't clear.

    3. Re:Slice Statistics by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Guns are designed for many things. Including competitive uses (like most bows and baseball bats). Or for providing food on my table (like bows, and knives). But you don't get it, that's fine. You're obviously not from the US, so enjoy where you're at! In the mean time we'll simply go about living as we do, and realize that about 80% of all shootings are drung and gang related; factor those out and we're equal or lower than many European countries.

      BTW, the only times I've had violent confrontations were overseas (two in Europe whilst living in Belgium, and two in South America whilst living in Chile). Never had to draw my firearm (concealed) in the US.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    4. Re:Slice Statistics by Goonie · · Score: 4, Informative

      OK, then, what about this study? Good enough for you?

      --

      Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
      --Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
  14. Re:Next level social awkwardness by Sarten-X · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Yes, kid, I have a gun, and that's okay. Before I could get this gun, I had to go to the police and show them that I'm one of the good guys. They made me promise that no matter what, I would use this gun only if there are bad guys who want to hurt me or the people around me, and there is no other way to escape. See, you've probably seen some movies or TV shows where the good guys arrive right in time. In the real world, that doesn't always happen. Sometimes, a good guy has to be there already. Right now, if a bad guy comes in this restaurant, I might be able to stop him, and that's why I have a gun."

    ...and that's how you change "awkward" into "awesome", and you don't even need to make even more identification problems!

    --
    You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
  15. Darwin by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Funny

    How long before we read the story of the Florida man who tried to take a selfie of his dick and ended up blowing his nuts off?

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  16. Re:Trying to get shot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Recently the TSA stopped a woman from wearing gun themed shoes throug Baltimore airport.

    That wasn't for security reasons, that was for reasons of Good Taste.

  17. Re:Trying to get shot? by mjtaylor24601 · · Score: 3, Informative

    4) People who understand what a false dichotomy is.

    --
    I wish I were as sure of anything as some people are of everything
  18. Re:Trying to get shot? by Flytrap · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Guardian has been running a live counter of people killed by police in the US. The site is pretty haunting... showing a picture of the deceased as a normal smiling person before they died. While statistics can be projected so as to further any agenda, even a racist one as you rightly state, the raw data - without any biased analysis or interpretation - speaks for itself: 1145 people were killed by police in the US last year, and if you were black, you were 2.5 times as likely to be killed by the police as a white person.

    But this is only part of the story... the Guardian counter allows you to click a link in the image of each person killed by the police to read about the circumstances under which they were killed, and it is clear that the vast majority of these people (regardless of race, ethnicity or sex) were out looking for trouble when they met their demise - criminal intent knows no racial or genetic boundaries - and maybe many of these people got what they deserved.

    I think that the issue that many people take umbrage of is the clear disparity in which police handled the 226 unarmed people they killed in 2015. Once again, many of these so-called unarmed people were not innocent in their endeavours at the time they had their untimely encounter with the police. However, what the facts tell us is that if you were an unarmed black person and had a violent encounter with the police in 2015, you were 3.8 times as likely to be killed by the police as a white person. This includes people such as Keith Childress who failed to drop an object in his hand when instructed to do so by the police - the object turned out to be his cell phone, and one might understand why he might have hesitated flinging that onto the floor - as well as Leroy Browning who allegedly reached for a deputy's firearm during a physical struggle, prompting officers to open fire; Keith did not deserve to die while Leroy probably got what he deserved.

  19. Re: Trying to get shot? by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Well, I kind of learned to be from adventures overseas. I had one attempted mugging in Amsterdam, one successful one in Marsellies, was shot in the leg in Bogota, and was robbed in Rio. Never had a problem in the US, but experiences overseas were enough to convince me to be armed when possible.

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  20. Re:Trying to get shot? by atriusofbricia · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm pretty sure people who like having power over other people are the one's with the guns.

    Odd. I own guns and I carry a gun. Can't say I want power over anyone, unless we're counting myself. I've always found it odd that the people who are most afraid of non-state actors carrying are usually the ones who also want more and more State and centralized power and authority. Thoughts?

    --
    I was raised on the command line, bitch

    "Nemo me impune lacesset"

  21. These People Don't Have a Clue by skam240 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Other people don't like being around people with guns all the time? They'd rather go out to social in environments where they don't have to be around tools specifically designed to kill and intimidate people held by strangers who clearly feel they need to have the constant threat of violence about them? People would rather not go out and have strangers with guns around themselves and their children? This can't mean there's anything wrong with my values so I'll just try to find a work around."

    Get a clue people. No one likes hanging out with a nut with a gun besides another nut with a gun. Gun ownership in general is a tricky issue for me but anyone who showed up to my home or at a social event I started at a public place with a gun would never be invited back. If they had a disguised piece I'd be doubly pissed that they tried to hide it from me.

    --
    I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
  22. Re:Next level social awkwardness by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    [...] I go anywhere I like and can freak out people with my metallic penis if I want to."

    Why does anti-gun libtards are so obsessed about penises? Look, if you crave cocks that is fine, it called being homosexual. It is perfectly acceptable to be homosexual and desire penises in your every orifices, you can drop that silly anti-gun rhetoric now.

  23. Re:Trying to get shot? by cas2000 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well, that's certainly one possible interpretation.

    Another interpretation (only slightly more extreme than yours) is that even prisoners and inmates of mental hospitals, being citizens, have a right to keep and bear arms - a right that is inalienable under any circumstances.

    Yet another interpretation is that ONLY members of a well-regulated militia have the right to keep and bear arms. And then you can argue about the definition of 'militia' - does it mean something official like the 'National Guard', or does it mean any group of people who declare themselves to be a militia (white skinned, of course. black or brown people doing that are obviously terrorists). And, then, what does 'well-regulated' mean? does it mean subject to government regulation, or able to march in something roughly akin to a uniform.

    There are lots of possible interpretations. Some more stupid than others.

  24. Re:Trying to get shot? by Flytrap · · Score: 4, Informative

    This is the problem with selecting a single element of detail out of a body of data and using it to make an argument that completely ignores the rest of the data.

    If you look at the data in its entirety you will realise that no race, sex, or whatever is immune to being killed by the police... especially if you charge at the police with a knife or point something that may look like a firearm at them... the police will shoot you no matter who or what you are - this is just Darwin's theory of natural selection in action - weeding out the stupid gene so that it hopefully does not multiply, regardless of race.

    However, if you look at all the data... not just the part that support the argument that you have already decided you want to make... all of the data... you will see that from time to time innocent men and women, black, white and everything in between, are sometimes killed needlessly by police. Sometimes it is an error - a civilian crossing the street in the middle of a shoot out with criminals - sometimes it is a cop who has had a bad week and that innocent person just happened to in the wrong place at the wrong time when the police officer lost control of their faculties. Regardless of the reasons, if you look deeper into the data... once again all of the data at the same time, not individual strands separated from the rest of the data... you will see that all too often, when this happens... when an innocent person is killed by the police... there is a disproportionate probability that that innocent person is going to be a black male than any other race or sex.

    This is not a point of view to be debated... this is a matter of fact as evidenced by the publicly available data - we can debate why this might be the case, but not whether or not it is happening... that would be disrespectful to all he innocent people, of all races, whose deaths at the hands of the police make up the data we are discussing.

    Now lets go out and celebrate one more gangster, murderer, rapist, etc who was stupid enough to go toe-to-toe with the police... and is now six feet under pushing daisies. We should not forget that sometimes the officers may not have had an alternative option that would safeguard life and property at the time or may have already exhausted non-lethal options at the time they took the lethal action.... sometimes.

  25. Common denominator = you by sjbe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Well, I kind of learned to be from adventures overseas. I had one attempted mugging in Amsterdam, one successful one in Marsellies, was shot in the leg in Bogota, and was robbed in Rio.

    Sounds like you haven't a clue how to be safe overseas. I've traveled quite a lot, including to some not-so-friendly locations, and not I nor anyone I know who has traveled a lot to these places has been assaulted. Why? Because they didn't do stupid things while in a foreign country. Bad things can happen to anyone and if you get assaulted once then you can chalk that up to bad luck. It happens sometimes. But if you've been assaulted 4 times then the problem isn't them, it's you.

    If you've actually been assaulted that much and you aren't just making up stories then you are doing something wrong. The common denominator is YOU and your behavior, not your lack of a weapon. The only thing that would have happened if you had a weapon in all likelihood is that either you or someone else would probably be dead or in jail right now.

  26. What a stupid idea by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Police are already claiming that you can't film them because there are guns disguised as cell phones so they have to make you put the phone away "for their safety". Of course, it's complete bullshit and they just don't want accountability.

    Until now.

    This is the reason the Geneva Conventions require soldiers to be dressed in uniform. When soldiers start dressing as civilians, actual civilians are harmed at a far higher rate because nobody knows who the enemy is.

    Now we're giving police officers in this country plausible reason to take your cell phone because "they thought it was a gun." Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  27. Re:If you've got it why hide it? by kwbauer · · Score: 3, Informative

    No, the reality of the situation was that criminals realized that many more non-criminals would now be carrying guns and so the odds of targetting an unarmed victim decreased dramatically.

    Your stupid comment about the police concealing their weapons would only make sense if 1) the vast majority of police were also plainclothes and 2) there were as many police as there are non-police. Since neither of those apply, then your little ranting is pointless or as you put it "a gross insult to intelligence."

    But please keep trying because you just may get lucky enough one day to have a rational thought. They say that if you give enough monkeys enough time and enough typewriters that those monkeys will be able to reproduce the works of Shakespeare so you too have hope.

  28. Re:Trying to get shot? by atriusofbricia · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Tell us, why do you carry a gun?

    Short and possibly flippant answer, because a cop weighs too much.

    Longer and more useful answer, because things happen and when it does the odds that a cop or such will be right there is vanishingly small. Sure, you can call the police and should do so. However, even under the very best of conditions it will still take them minutes to get there in a situation where seconds count. Do I have pretensions of being some super bad ass who will take on terrorists and vanquish evil? Don't be silly. I hope I could acquit myself well and have practiced with that in mind, less for terrorists (highly unlikely to ever happen) and more for mundane things, but still.

    I have a fire extinguisher, but I am not the fire department. I have car insurance as well, and hope I never have to use any of these things. Yet, if I do I hope to be as prepared as one can reasonably be for such a thing. One could ask why you don't, if I may presume so much, carry one and be prepared as well. One could ask that, but as far as I'm concerned it would be rude to do so as if you don't I presume you have what you feel are good and proper reasons and I would not presume to judge anyone for doing so or not doing so. It's a personal decision and should remain such.

    --
    I was raised on the command line, bitch

    "Nemo me impune lacesset"