Demand a Plan to Stop Smart GunsJulie Beal, Contributor This article will examine the development of smart gun technology, and the movements of Biden as he compiles his report for Obama, as well as the large base of support for smart guns amongst the gun control lobbyists. The problem: regular shooting sprees in supposedly safe zones The reaction: tragedy, grief, and a lot of fodder for the media The solution: yet to be announced (note, however, that solutions always need to be seen to reflect the so-called consensus the middle ground. All controversial proposals are either a total distraction, or an over-bid in the bargaining process, such that the final solution appears to be a compromise which is then called a consensus.) Joe Biden has been on a whistle-stop tour to demonstrate how he is listening to all sides, and is about to make his recommendations to Obama. Towards the end of the series of meetings, Biden announced his support for smart guns: He has also said that Obama may make an Executive Order which would be passed without the approval of Congress. Theres certainly an air of hurry. There has also been a flurry of articles about smart guns in general, all invoking the communitarian meme of responsibility towards the collective: to protect the children of gun owners, to avoid further massacres, to thwart the mentally ill, and to stall the market for illegal weapons. It is also said that many policemen are killed or injured each year when criminals turn their weapons against them. Most of the articles written recently describe Triggersmart, a technology reviewed by Biden as part of his discussions last week. Its underfunded but ready for market, and includes a design with a chip implanted in the hand of the user (this is not mentioned in the articles, but is shown in the video the company has uploaded to YouTube). It also allows for remote controlled deactivation of the gun, such as in safe zones like schools and airports. Fox news featured video footage of Biden endorsing smart guns, and interviewed Max Slowik from Guns.com , who maintained there are too many problems with the technology; someone could steal your ring, for instance, and there is a time lag upon firing (this could be up to a second for biometrics). He also claimed, as have several journalists, that the technology is not yet ready for market. However, two smart gun designs are said to fully developed and simply waiting for funding, and participation by gun manufacturers and retailers. Jeremy Shane, writing for CNN, is advocating the introduction of smart guns, describing features such as the gun broadcasting its location, and sensing who it is being pointed at, so that it could not be aimed at a child, for instance. Shane asserts: While the debate rages on, its worth thinking out of the box for a moment. What if we could design guns to be smarter and safer with hardware and software? The right technology could neutralize the killing capability of an assault weapon, even in a madmans hands. The root of the problem is that guns are dumb. Pull the trigger and they discharge bullets mindlessly, regardless of who is doing the aiming or where they are aimed. Guns should know not to fire in schools, churches, hospitals or malls. They should sense when they are being aimed at a child, or at a person when no other guns are nearby. Hardware fixes alone such as a ban on extended clips may mitigate carnage in an assault, but they will not change the risk that an event happens at all if the person holding the gun wants to harm others. Addressing that challenge with reliable precision requires a hardware and software solution. The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence also advocates smart guns, and believes the U.S. Supreme Court decision, in District of Columbia v. Heller created a radical shift in the meaning of the Second Amendment, but it doesnt prevent smart gun regulations, and even claims that, courts are finding that smart laws arent just constitutional theyre also critical to keeping our communities safe from gun violence. These sentiments are echoed by a non-profit organisation[3] which wants to retrofit all weapons with biometric features: The Personalized Weapon In 1996 the National Institute of Justice commissioned the Sandia National laboratory to explore the possibilities of smart gun technology, leading to a report which concluded that police officers would only want to use personalised weapons if they felt sure they were reliable. Five years later, National Defense Industrial Association sponsored the TACOM-ARDEC Support of the Personalized Weapons Program published a report summarizing the issues identified in developing smart gun technology for civilian and law enforcement use, defining the gun as, Then in 2003, the National Academy of Engineering (with support from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation) organised a workshop to discuss Owner-Authorized Handguns. The meeting brought together academics and government officials with members of various gun interest groups. The NRA has been opposed to smart gun technology over the years, but appears not to have made statements on the issue of late. The early research , in the noughties, involved grants from the National Institute of Justice to fund both Smith Wesson, and Colt, to develop smart guns, but the projects never came to fruition. A subsidiary of the Mossberg group developed the iGun, though according to an article at ComputerWorld.com, (t)here is no indication from the iGun website that that effort continues, and officials at iGun Technology could not be reached for comment. New Jersey introduced legislation in 2002, specifying that three years after smart guns become commercially available, all handguns sold in the State must conform to the new technology. In 2007, the Legal Community Against Violence (LCAV) crafted a model law for personalized handguns. Jump forward to 2013 and we find that three guns are said to be ready for market, but do not yet have the funding, or the support from gun manufacturers, that they need to fully commercialise their products. The fingerprint recognition guns you may have heard of are not a successful design: At best, we found that they were 75% reliable, and thats under laboratory conditions, he said. And there are all kinds of ways they can be confused and not work: Dry fingers on capacitor systems cause problems; leaving behind the residue of your finger print can cause problems; cold hands; gloves, no gloves. There are a lot of reasons just as a technology that it is flawed. Then you get into where do you put it on the gun, so that your finger falls in a natural way. Its very difficultto find one place that fits for all. The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has been developing a gun which works by detecting the biometrics of the users grip pattern literally, the unique way they hold the gun. NJIT has been funded millions of dollars over the years with federal and state grants and has developed Dynamic Grip Recognition, with a 99% or better success rate. in 2007, the Association of Chief Police Officers in the UK said they were keen to test the gun , which uses an array of 32 sensors in the guns grip, to recognize the grip pattern profile of a particular user, and thus establish authentication. Partnered with Australian company Metal Storm, the ODwyer VLe smart gun uses a 64-digit electronic keying system to prevent it from being fired by unauthorized operators. It is designed for specialist police teams and for the military. VLe stands for variable lethality. Donald H. Sebastian, NJITs senior vice president for research and development, claims that his project is out of money, and that although the technology has received some interest from investors, there has been none from gun manufacturers. According to Stephen Teret, the founding director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Policy and Research, Robert McNamara, the founder of TriggerSmart, has already tried to get some U.S. gun makers, (which he hasnt named) to license his technology, but none of them want to make the first move: A company in Ireland called TriggerSmart has teamed with the Georgia Institute of Technology to develop a smart gun with an RFID chip in it, which activates the gun when it receives a high frequency radio signal from a second chip located in or on the users hand; the chip can be incorporated into a ring, or it can be implanted in the hand. When the two chips are only 1cm apart, the gun will be unlocked and able to fire. It is powered by a small rechargeable battery that can hold up to a weeks worth of power. (Source) Infowars reported on this technology back in 2004, citing Verichip president (at the time), Keith Bolton: Similar developments are under way at other gun manufacturers and research firms. The New Jersey Institute of Technology and Australian gun maker Metal Storm Ltd. are working on a prototype smart gun that would recognize its owners individual grip. Another highly significant feature of the TriggerSmart gun is that it can be remotely disabled in public places, like schools and airports. This feature is known as Wide Area Control, or WAC. The weapons safety devices have been patented in the U.S. and 47 other countries. In the video for Triggersmart on YouTube, McNamara says, He also says that the US Government has agreed to sign the United Nations Small and Light Weapons Treaty, which aims to control the illegal gun market. Triggersmart uses the Internet banking encryption standard (AES-256) and is therefore claimed to be safe although, of course, complete security cannot be guaranteed. As with all benefits of technology, there will always be, to put it mildly, drawbacks. McNamara claims he could bring TriggerSmart to market within a year if he were given just $500,000 to finalise development. Another gun design is manufactured by a company called Armatrix; their gun also works by syncing with a chip worn by the user, but in a watch worn on the wrist. The company claims it is currently involved in advanced licensing negotiations with several gun manufacturers. In addition, Armatix offers a tried and tested smart system in the form of a development of its own: the iP1 pistol (.22 LR caliber) and the iW1 active RFID watch. Bidens been busy The numerous horrific shooting sprees have been used as a springboard on which to introduce measures to gun ownership in America, and Joe Biden is leading a taskforce to address the issue, and to present a report of his conclusions and recommendations to President Obama by Tuesday. The group was formed in December last year, after the massacre in Connecticut, when twenty children and six adults were killed. Biden has just finished a hectic week, meeting with groups representing various different interests, including the National Rifle Association (NRA) which is Americas biggest gun rights group; after their meeting with Biden, NRA representatives commented, This is because the meeting, and the media at large, has had its attention directed toward such proposals as mandatory background checks for people who want to buy a gun, and a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines not smart guns. Perhaps this will be the solution whipped out at the last minute. But if its in the cards, it should have been discussed with all groups at the meetings Biden has held. Especially when it could advance the introduction of VeriChips. In an open admission of the desire to control the content of films to represent the governments ideology, Biden has also met with chief figureheads who represent the entertainment industry as part of his negotiations, to discuss the use of guns and violence in movies. The industry asserted they will not agree to government legislation regarding content of films and programs, but back a plan to make sure viewers are fully informed. They understand, however, that the government can strongly urge filmmakers to make voluntary changes. Hollywood celebrities have also added their voices to the gun control advocates with the release of a video Demand A Plan to End Gun Violence Demand a Plan is partnered with Mayors Against Illegal Guns and thousands of civilians, to petition the White House for action to be taken to prevent more crazed massacres. Infowars has released a political parody of the video, highlighting the sickly sweet hypocrisy of the original. On the 9th of January this year, Vice President Biden voiced his support for smart guns, noting that they would have prevented the Connecticut shootings (the gunman would not have been able to fire his mothers weapons.) Biden has also indicated that President Obama may use his presidential powers to bypass Congress: McNamara, the founder of TriggerSmart, posted on a forum, just before Christmas, that he had been contacted by the Vice Presidents Office and asked to attend a meeting with him, to discuss his smart gun design. He also posted an email which Mitch Barker, Executive Director, WA Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs had emailed to Biden, lamenting the massacres and endorsing the use of smart guns: If this technology can be brought to the market place in a coordinated manner, I believe it will be a key element in saving lives that otherwise would be lost to gun accidents or criminal violence. I would encourage public funding of the research, development, and planned marketing of technology such as TriggerSmart. The ideas of creative entrepreneurs, and our support for them, should not be limited to the arena of information technology. Base support for such enterprises are essential in reducing gun deaths in our nation. Writing for the Huffington Post, David Shuster last month proclaimed: Its not about taking guns away. Its about making sure that guns cant be fired by anybody but their lawful owners. Is that too much to ask? Jonathan Lowy, director of the Legal Action Project of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, says the simplest way to get personalized guns to the market would be to place firearms under the purview of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which handles safety-related oversight of everything from cribs to power tools. Several campus police at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) already carry smart guns that prevent unauthorized use by disabling the trigger mechanism The United Nations held a Review Conference last Summer for organisations interested in halting the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, and to further the UN Programme of Action, using national, regional and international measures for full implementation of the Programme of Action adopted in 2001. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson echoed the communitarian ethos of the Programme, when he told participants of the meeting: Belinda Padilla, President of Armatix GmbH was present at the conference as an NGO, with the support of IANSA (the International Action Network on Small Arms), although Armatrix is not a member of IANSA. Conclusion Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer of consumer guns (firearms sold at gun shows are also a substantial part of the market) and had originally declined an invitation to meet with Biden last week, although at the eleventh hour, they decided to send a representative. According to the L A Times, the company has worked with Bloombergs group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, on the Responsible Firearms Retail Partnership, an initiative to adopt stricter gun sale practices, showing clearly where the company stands in the gun control debate. Matt K. Lewis, at the Daily Caller, poses the question: Will Wal-Mart actually team with the Obama White House on gun control?, pointing out, in agreement with Bill Scher, that Wal-Mart needs to maintain its broad consumer reputation and is also partnered with the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition. Could it be, then, that Wal-Mart would agree to stock smart guns? That would be enough to make the others follow suit. Even James Bond has a smart gun in the new movie, Skyfall, which saves the day; he is given the gun by Q, who says, Its been coded to your palm print, so only you can fire it. Derren Browns The Assassin is a Channel4 OD program available on YouTube and is well worth watching[4], because it shows how the CIA could have trained people to kill against their will as part of its notorious MK Ultra program. The man who shot Kennedy, Sirhan Sirhan, was known to be a kind and gentle person, who has consistently denied shooting the presidential candidate. Brown says that eyewitnesses of the shooting reported that Sirhan Sirhan was in a trance-like state during the shooting, and that under hypnosis, The program is about Derren Brown training somebody to shoot Britains national treasure, Stephen Fry. Hypnosis and cues are used to both train the man to be a good marksman, and to react to a given signal. It is also crucial evidence to weigh up in the light of some of the school shootings in America, especially in Aurora, where James Holmes looked very dazed and confused; the New York Daily News reported, In January, 1999, Beretta published their conclusions on smart guns after several years of research. Their report criticises the idea that these guns should be ready to shoot currently, parents store their ammo separately from the weapon, but smart guns sell on the idea that they are safe, child-proof even. We can all testify to experiences with technology that illustrate how it can make life harder at the same time it makes life easier. This is the way of life: with the good comes the bad and reliance on technology just brings in a new set of problems for the old ones cleared away. Biometrics and RFID are not infallible in fact, that is why identity management and digital financial transactions are always covered by several layers, or methods, of asserting authentication. There is a higher chance of secure encryption when a combination of RFID and different biometric readings is employed the technique is multi-modal. Smart guns lack these layers of security, and even the dynamic finger grip design was combined with the RFID-chip design the stark fact remains: relying on a piece of jewellery to make your gun work in an emergency is ridiculous its obvious that people would start choosing to suffer a quick prick for the VeriChip rather than have to (remember to) wear that damn ring. Or get it stolen, or lose it. After a while, what with all the health chips and ID chips, getting an implant would start to seem normal. So to introduce smart guns would surely advance this horrific trend no matter what we think of our present governments, we must not build the framework which would enable tyranny-with-ease. Its clear that if guns and their owners have to be given permission to be fired, the power lies in the hands of those who grant permission, and smart guns would allow the authorities to disable weapons, which is the same as taking them away. The media campaign especially the Demand a Plan video, rests on little else than appeals to emotion. No one would belittle the harm that has been caused by the mass shootings, but a balanced case must not rest on emotion alone. All the evidence must be considered, and be seen as part of the larger picture an essentially political one, since it decides the balance of power between the government, and the governed. Notes: [2] 99 times out of 100, the gun wont fire but there are other problems too; please read through to the conclusion. [3] The website for the Biomac Foundation only appears to have been active in 2009. It has a for-profit arm which claims to be able to retrofit existing guns with biometric security mechanisms, while the Foundation exists to plough profits into helping victims of global violence. Note also: While the technology can be retrofitted to guns, the process requires a pistol grip change as well as the motor install, making it better suited to integration during the manufacturing process. [4] The whole program is worth watching, but if you just want to see a few minutes, start watching at 16 minutes and 30 seconds. This article first appeared at Get Mind Smart Julie Beal is a UK-based independent researcher who has been studying the globalist agenda for more than 20 years. Please visit her website, Get Mind Smart, for a wide range of information about Agenda 21, Communitarianism, Ethics, Bioscience, and much more. 