Smart Guns, A Clever Bit Of Legislating
On Dec. 23, New Jersey’s Gov. McGreevey signed the “smart gun” measure into law. The measure calls for handgun vendors in the state to sell only state-sanctioned guns when smart gun technology is commercially implemented.
The aim is to reduce gun accidents by children and prevent people from misusing a police officer’s weapon. Officials hope that only the intended users will be able to operate a gun using such means as optical scanners, fingerprint sensors, and ultrasonic receptors.
Meanwhile, some gun manufactures are struggling to create the new technology while others have stopped trying altogether. The New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark says it is five to 10 years away from developing a gun-safety grip concept.
Other states that are mulling similar laws are New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Wisconsin, Illinois, Washington, and California.
And starting from this month, all new handguns sold in Maryland must carry a trigger lock, which is not as easy to remove as the former locks.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the New York Times (01/12/03) P. 14NJ1; Pearce, Jeremy .
