First U.S. Smart Gun Sale Will Trigger Ban on Traditional Gun Sales in NJMelissa Melton That would be a critical blow to the right to bear arms in New Jersey, furthering the often absurd efforts of gun control advocates in the wake of Sandy Hook and other exploited tragedies. Thats because many in power dont just want smart guns to be an available option on the market, they want them to replace all other legal firearms. A Maryland gun store owner named Andy Raymond, owner of Engage Armament, found out about the smart-sale trigger clause the hard way, after he stocked them and announced he was set to become the first retailer in the nation of the Armatix iP1, a .22 caliber smart gun that requires the owner to wear an RFID watch to authenticate and enable the firearm. According to the manufacturer, the intelligent iW1 wrist watch arms the weapon for firing and also has the following functions: Raymond issued an apology video, citing an onslaught of drama after fierce backlash from gun owners. I did not know I would be screwing you over, Raymonds video stated. Im terribly sorryYou dont have anything to worry about from me. Many gun rights enthusiasts applauded Raymonds reversal, vowing to now support the store. If someone wants to buy a smart gun, that is fine, Raymond explained in a subsequent Facebook address. When the law legislates it, that is a sin. Meanwhile, the NRA is urging the repeal of the New Jersey law, as many Democrat lawmakers, including State State Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D), who sponsored the bill, are vowing to repeal it, accusing the gun lobby of blocking the sale of any smart guns due to the mandate to override traditional gun sales. The issue with Andy Raymonds selling smart guns may be a moot point anyway, as there were reports in February of a California shop preparing to sell the smart gun soon. State Senator Loretta Weinberg apparently already issued a letter to New Jerseys Attorney General demanding he certify that the technology is ready (as the wording of the law called for). I expect your prompt attention to this matter and look forward to your reply, Weinberg wrote. Reportedly, she has not been issued a response. Silicon Valley investor Ron Conway is backing a $1 million contest for smart gun technology, with emphasis on the smart phones fingerprint unlock mechanism. We need the iPhone of guns. We want gun owners to feel like they are dinosaurs if they arent using smart guns, Conway was quoted in the Washington Post as saying. Plenty of others in the pro-gun control crowd have been pushing for smart solutions on guns because, you know, anything thats smart is automatically foolproof. Of course, the idea that the technology works at all or enough to go on the market, and the idea that all its flaws and drawbacks are worked out are two entirely different things. But if the gun is to be used for self-defense and/or security purposes, it is clear that it is just one more element that must be kept up with and work properly for the weapon to be effective or in this case, to work at all. The use of RFID authentication creates numerous problems with privacy, government intrusion, malfunction, interference and hacking. If hackers and robbers band together, they could make home defense inoperable: if a gun was inoperable, or the battery for the watch required to make the gun work was dead, or just the fact that the guns red light would give it away to any criminal, make deterrence ineffective as well. Perhaps worse, if governments used the same kill switch technology it has over the Internet and cell phone communications (as the law enforcement community is now advocating as standard), it would act as a kill switch to 2nd Amendment rights as well. A world filled with smart guns would be effectively unable to resist tyranny just saying. Here are some of the arguments made by commenters themselves, wary of the advent of the smart gun age on a promotional video for the Armatix iP1: Darth Varner sums up the argument well in a lengthy comment on the Verge, and why many think that smart guns are just a precursor to authorizing only LEOs and special cases to have guns in the first place (as it is now in countries with strict gun control): Related selfnews Post Articles: Melissa Melton is a writer, researcher, and analyst for The Daily Sheeple, where this first appeared, and a co-creator of Truthstream Media. Wake the flock up! 