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Need to Know: Why smart guns aren't for sale

Laws meant to increase firearm safety may be more complicated than the new guns themselves.

June 4, 2014 7:02PM ET

by Suzanne Zionts @suzietracey

Smart gun technology is a polarizing force in the already highly controversial gun control debate. This week on “TechKnow,” our contributor—and ex-CIA officer—Lindsay Moran tests out the Armatix IP-1, a specially equipped .22-caliber pistol, and tackles the hot topic of why gun critics are so opposed.

Here are five things you need to know about smart guns:

1. The smart gun technology in the Armatix IP-1 confirms the gun is the owner’s and allows only that person can pull the trigger of the gun. The shooter wears a watch that is programmed to emit a radio signal that unlocks the gun, which also turning a strip on the gun’s grip green.

2. New Jersey’s Personalized Handgun Law requires that, within three years of the technology being on the market, only smart guns will be available for sale in the state. The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence has now filed suit with the state because the technology is available to the public and yet the state’s Attorney General has not written progress reports updating the legislature, as the law requires.

3. Gun shop owners are taking hits when attempting to sell the device. Maryland is latest state to attempt selling Armatix’s IP-1, but the owner of the shop backed out of selling the product after receiving death threats. A gun shop owner in California also took the guns off shelves after having a similar experience.

4. Smart gun laws can only go into effect is after a smart gun is officially sold. Because the Maryland and California gun shop owners have removed them from their shelves, no smart gun has actually been sold in the U.S. yet.

5. Silicon Valley investors see smart guns as the way of the future. Ron Conway, a famous tech angel investor in companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and Zappos, along with fellow business leaders Jim Pitkow and Don Kendall, are working urgently to get more smart guns made through various challenges with their Smart Tech Foundation. Right now, the organization is offering a $1 million prize for the best gun safety technology.