Smart Guns

I'm not a big fan of the concept. Geek with a .45 is posting on smart gun development. Engineers have done the analysis realized there will essentially be two types of smart gun (1) the ones that still shoot even if the smart stuff breaks (2) the ones that won't. Thanks, I did that analysis myself in two seconds and it cost you a lot less of your tax dollars.

The implications are these. Some petty bureaucrat is going to decide whether you fit in one of two categories. Are you a person who needs guns in order to shoot things like bad men? They should have the guns that always work. Are you a person who wants guns in order to shoot things like tasty animals, clay pigeons, and pieces of paper? These people should get the ones that don't.

The bureaucrat will almost certainly decide you fit in the second category unless you are a cop, security guard, or have paid him lot of money. You might get into the first category if someone is actively threatening your life, but you will likely be dead before the paperwork to actually get your new gun goes through.

The reason for the bureaucrat is simple. The smart technology on the guns that always work can probably be more easily disabled. If it fails the gun has to work so you take a chisel to it an break the gun's smarts. Now you have a normal working stupid gun. The bureaucrat can't have you get dumb guns in this way so he will have to limit their circulation. The ones that don't always work don't necessarily have this problem. If you break their "smarts" you probably don't have a gun anymore. You have a 2 pound paperweight.

In any case, I like dumb guns. Because smart guns aren't actually that smart. In general I think smart guns will just make stupid people complacent, lazy, and dangerous. This will soon demonstrate how stupid "smart" guns really are.