Department of Justice issues voluntary smart-gun guidelines
The
Obama administration on Wednesday announced a series of specifications for
smart-gun manufacturers, born out of the president’s January executive action
aimed at curbing gun violence.
But
there’s a catch to the new set of guidelines: They’re voluntary.
“This
project was designed to spur the growth of enhanced gun safety technology – and
not to mandate that any particular individual or law enforcement agency adopt
the technology once developed,” the Department of Justice wrote in a blog post.
The
DOJ’s National Institute of Justice developed the specifications, which include
recommendations for how smart guns should be able to be unlocked and a default
state that would allow guns to fire if the technology malfunctioned, engadget reported.
The
White House said the specifications are meant to ensure that smart-gun
technology “available to law enforcement agencies is safe and reliable” and to
demonstrate that a demand exists for weapons with enhanced safety features.
Officials
also said they hope the specifications will give manufacturers guidance about
the basic requirements that law enforcement agencies expect from the
technology.
But
critics of the DOJ’s baseline specifications quickly emerged, with the National
Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action penning an essay Friday
that questioned what, if anything, the Obama administration’s smart-gun effort
accomplished.
“But
it appears the president hopes to portray the publication of the document as a
‘win’ during his waning days in office,” the piece stated
Smart
gun fingerprint technology could save lives
The
Obama administration on Wednesday announced a series of specifications for
smart-gun manufacturers, born out of the president’s January executive action
aimed at curbing gun violence.
But
there’s a catch to the new set of guidelines: They’re voluntary.
“This
project was designed to spur the growth of enhanced gun safety technology – and
not to mandate that any particular individual or law enforcement agency adopt
the technology once developed,” the Department of Justice wrote in a blog post.
The
DOJ’s National Institute of Justice developed the specifications, which include
recommendations for how smart guns should be able to be unlocked and a default
state that would allow guns to fire if the technology malfunctioned, engadget reported.
The
White House said the specifications are meant to ensure that smart-gun
technology “available to law enforcement agencies is safe and reliable” and to
demonstrate that a demand exists for weapons with enhanced safety features.
Officials
also said they hope the specifications will give manufacturers guidance about
the basic requirements that law enforcement agencies expect from the
technology.
But
critics of the DOJ’s baseline specifications quickly emerged, with the National
Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action penning an essay Friday
that questioned what, if anything, the Obama administration’s smart-gun effort
accomplished.
“But
it appears the president hopes to portray the publication of the document as a
‘win’ during his waning days in office,” the piece stated.
The
NRA-ILA memo also called into question the basic practicality of smart guns if,
as the DOJ admits in its own recommendations, the technology has the ability to
fail.
“Any
firearm that won’t fire when it’s needed just isn’t ‘smart,’” the NRA-ILA
wrote. “And any ‘security’ system that defaults to turning itself off during a
problem just isn’t secure.”
As
part of his January executive action, Obama directed the government to review
the availability of smart-gun technology on a regular basis.
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