The Noble Lie

In Soviet California, Gun shoots You!

If you know more about this bill or the status of this bill, I'm eager to hear your comments.

I don't follow 2nd Amendment rights terribly closely, but I am a big supporter of the right all Americans once had to take personal responsibility for protecting themselves and their families by bearing arms.

In the time I haven't been paying attention, my state of California has passed "Smart Gun" legislation in the Assembly (and likely in the Senate too, but I am still digging) that requires all guns manufactured to be "biometrically locked" to their owners, as soon as the available technology makes it feasible. This technology exists today. Have you ever fumbled with the biometric thumb-print readers that are starting to show up on laptops and other devices? I usually wrestle with it for about 2 minutes, before giving up and typing in my username and password manually.

Smart Guns are long a staple of Cyberpunk Sci-Fi, and the ultimate smart gun requires authorization and tracking (by a computer) for every shot fired from any weapon anywhere (except soldiers, police, and other doers of "wet work" for the State).

Law Enforcement is, of course, of course, exempt.

From HS Daily Wire:

California passes smart-gun law
Published 22 April 2008

Several companies are now working on embedding palm biometrics security mechanism in guns: The gun grip will store the image of the owner's palm, and the gun will unlock only if the image of the palm holding the gun matches the stored image; California wants this mechanism in all guns sold in the state

How do we keep kids from firing guns by mistake, or crooks from using stolen guns to hurt people? New biometric technology will soon make this a reality, and lawmakers in Sacramento, California, are planning ahead. Several companies are now working on putting biometric images of hands into the grip of the gun -- and only the person whose palm image matches the images stored in the gun would be able to fire it. "If the person is not recognized, the gun would not be unlocked. So the gun would not fire," said Ho Chang from Nanoident Biometrics. Chang came to Sacramento assure lawmakers that smart guns are no longer fiction. The Public Safety Committee of the California Assembly last Tuesday moved to require every gun sold in California to have this biometric system once it is developed. "We think it's a reasoned approach to look at new technology that actually might make these dangerous products safer for all Californians," said Assemblyman Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord).

DeSaulnier thinks applying the biometric technology to weapons would prevent kids from accidentally pulling the trigger and stop thieves from using stolen guns. Gun groups, however, say it was irresponsible for the committee to pass a bill requiring technology that does not exist and has not been tested. "The last thing in the world you want to do is put a computer on a gun. What happens when the battery goes dead? What happens when the computer software fails? All of us have seen the blue screen of death on our PC's," said Ed Worley from the National Rifle Association. New Jersey passed a similar smart gun requirement in 2002. California's proposal sets a deadline of 2014. If the smart gun is not on the market by then, the law would become void.

From NRA ILA:

California "Smart Gun" Bill Passes Assembly, Now Heads to Senate!
Thursday, May 29, 2008

On Wednesday, May 28, the Assembly voted 41-30 to pass Assembly Bill 2235.  The bill now heads to the Senate for its consideration.

AB2235 would prohibit the sale of handguns other than "owner-authorized (or "smart") handguns" -- that is, handguns with a permanent, programmable biometric feature that renders the firearm useless unless activated by the authorized user.   No proven, viable handgun of this type has ever been developed.

Introduced by Assemblyman Mark DeSaulnier (D-11), AB2235 would require the Attorney General to report to the Governor and Legislature on the availability of owner-authorized handguns; once the Attorney General finds that these guns are available, only "owner-authorized" handguns could be approved for sale in California.

Please contact your State Senator TODAY and respectfully urge him or her to oppose AB2235 when it comes before them for a vote.  Contact information can be found here.