Dateline 2010: Smart Guns
Last night at work, I was reading the Wall Street Journal. The front cover article indicated that, as most of us know, Clinton is supportive of suing gun manufacturers for the actions of their customers, intended customers or unintended (ie: criminals). He wants to hire more federal agents. He wants to fund more federal lawsuits. He wants to regulate and legislate and tax until the problem is solved.
Meanwhile, he wants to supply gun makers with millions of dollars in Federal grants to help companies develop "smart" guns. Guns with microchips. Guns that only fire when the owners identity is verified via fingerprinting, microchip recognition (mark of the beast, anyone?), or some kind of software/hardware not yet developed.
Sounds great on paper, huh? The children of America will be saved, and the criminals won't be able to use stolen weapons. Never mind that the guns themselves are not to blame; the true fault lies with irresponsible parents and in the hearts of those who would harm others. But let's face it: What socialist type would DARE suggest we all change our nature? The government can solve our problems, just keep the checks rolling in, and let the government grow so it can save us from ourselves. Of course, criminals don't know anything about software or electronics, so "hacking" a smart gun is just not possible.
Smart guns could provide automatic gun registration, and anyone who studies history, even recent history pertaining to "assault" rifles in California, knows that registration is always a prelude to confiscation.
But they won't confiscate smart guns, and that leaves everything else. Every "dangerous because it has no external safety" Glock pistol. Every "high powered, semi-automatic, big, black, formidable, sniper-friendly long range" rifle with all of the incarnate evil that lies within. We'll be deer hunting with slingshots and spitwads. You get the picture.
I think it will take ten years, hence the title of this post.
So that leaves us with smart guns. The second amendment has not been affected, they will say. You still have guns.
Oh, um, by the way, we really, really need to make them safer:
1) 5 round magazines (no high capacity preban mags to be found for these new, improved firearms).
2) Slower rate of fire (to protect crowds when honest gun owners inexplicably go nuts at the local shopping mall).
3) Not available in 9mm or greater caliber (to protect law enforcement from these near-nuclear, highly-devastating rounds).
4) Cellular locating feature (to protect owners if the gun is stolen).
5) My personal favorite: Remote disable. Think about that one, folks. To protect law enforcement in case of a shootout, your gun is rendered inoperable before the soldiers of the law apprehend you. Never mind that you may be holding some robber/rapist at gunpoint, or maybe you are exchanging gunfire with him, and his pre-smart gun just keeps on firing back at you while yours displays an error message (no, the "old" weapons will not disappear in a puff of smoke just because Uncle Sam bans them, they will just increase in value on the street, creating more violence). The same technology that is now used by emergency vehicles to change traffic lights before they arrive can now deactivate guns. Of course, those stupid criminals will never build a "black box" that creates the same effect. And, of course, law abiding subjects, er, um, citizens, won't dream of tampering with our magnificent safety features.
It won't happen all at once. It will happen month by month, bill by bill, with an occasional executive order thrown in for good measure. And the crowning touch is that crime will increase with regulation, speeding up the urgency with which more restrictions are encacted.
What got me thinking about this was, strangely enough, color laser copiers. You know, like the ones at Kinko's. In the early 80's, they could only make single sided copies, and the quality was not that good. Now they can duplex, and that means counterfeit money is a concern. So there are two government mandated electronic features on color laser copiers:
1) A serial number is embedded in every color copy. This is how professional photo studios can find out which copy shop is reproducing copyrighted family portraits, and also how the government catches some of the I.D. forgers out there.
2) Color recognition: The color of money is unique, and the copiers can identify it. Try to color copy a dollar bill, and all you get is a green and black blur. I work in the graphic arts industry, and I can tell you that is true of Canon as well as other brands of color copiers.
More side effects of smart guns? Well, more taxation, of course...maybe a "reprogramming tax" everytime you transfer ownership. An "air quality and noise pollution tax" every time a round is fired (they can track it now, you see).
And let's not forget the children. These new guns won't operate in school zones. And gun owning parents of school aged children will be listed on a public web site so parents can make a decision about whose house little Billy is allowed to play at. Side benefit of this one is that you can enjoy the icy stares of the other parents at the PTA meetings every time some thug gives the media a chance to sensationalize a shooting "Oh, you're one of THEM", they will say. The media doesn't influence our preferences? Buy some cigarettes and start puffing away at your next PTA meeting and you will see how influenced we are by what the media says is right or wrong.
And never mind that gun-banning celebrities like Rosie O'Donnell (Another Stakeout 2), and Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon, ad infinitum) still make movies glorifying violence while surrounding themselves with armed guards. But I digress.
Stay alert and question everything the government does. They take a dollar, and return 50 cents worth of service while restraining our liberties with every passing moment. Think of it as a chess game, and plan five moves ahead.
My father always said "When you see trouble coming, nip it in the bud"
Sound advice from a smart man.
------------------
[This message has been edited by Longshot (edited January 29, 2000).]
Last night at work, I was reading the Wall Street Journal. The front cover article indicated that, as most of us know, Clinton is supportive of suing gun manufacturers for the actions of their customers, intended customers or unintended (ie: criminals). He wants to hire more federal agents. He wants to fund more federal lawsuits. He wants to regulate and legislate and tax until the problem is solved.
Meanwhile, he wants to supply gun makers with millions of dollars in Federal grants to help companies develop "smart" guns. Guns with microchips. Guns that only fire when the owners identity is verified via fingerprinting, microchip recognition (mark of the beast, anyone?), or some kind of software/hardware not yet developed.
Sounds great on paper, huh? The children of America will be saved, and the criminals won't be able to use stolen weapons. Never mind that the guns themselves are not to blame; the true fault lies with irresponsible parents and in the hearts of those who would harm others. But let's face it: What socialist type would DARE suggest we all change our nature? The government can solve our problems, just keep the checks rolling in, and let the government grow so it can save us from ourselves. Of course, criminals don't know anything about software or electronics, so "hacking" a smart gun is just not possible.
Smart guns could provide automatic gun registration, and anyone who studies history, even recent history pertaining to "assault" rifles in California, knows that registration is always a prelude to confiscation.
But they won't confiscate smart guns, and that leaves everything else. Every "dangerous because it has no external safety" Glock pistol. Every "high powered, semi-automatic, big, black, formidable, sniper-friendly long range" rifle with all of the incarnate evil that lies within. We'll be deer hunting with slingshots and spitwads. You get the picture.
I think it will take ten years, hence the title of this post.
So that leaves us with smart guns. The second amendment has not been affected, they will say. You still have guns.
Oh, um, by the way, we really, really need to make them safer:
1) 5 round magazines (no high capacity preban mags to be found for these new, improved firearms).
2) Slower rate of fire (to protect crowds when honest gun owners inexplicably go nuts at the local shopping mall).
3) Not available in 9mm or greater caliber (to protect law enforcement from these near-nuclear, highly-devastating rounds).
4) Cellular locating feature (to protect owners if the gun is stolen).
5) My personal favorite: Remote disable. Think about that one, folks. To protect law enforcement in case of a shootout, your gun is rendered inoperable before the soldiers of the law apprehend you. Never mind that you may be holding some robber/rapist at gunpoint, or maybe you are exchanging gunfire with him, and his pre-smart gun just keeps on firing back at you while yours displays an error message (no, the "old" weapons will not disappear in a puff of smoke just because Uncle Sam bans them, they will just increase in value on the street, creating more violence). The same technology that is now used by emergency vehicles to change traffic lights before they arrive can now deactivate guns. Of course, those stupid criminals will never build a "black box" that creates the same effect. And, of course, law abiding subjects, er, um, citizens, won't dream of tampering with our magnificent safety features.
It won't happen all at once. It will happen month by month, bill by bill, with an occasional executive order thrown in for good measure. And the crowning touch is that crime will increase with regulation, speeding up the urgency with which more restrictions are encacted.
What got me thinking about this was, strangely enough, color laser copiers. You know, like the ones at Kinko's. In the early 80's, they could only make single sided copies, and the quality was not that good. Now they can duplex, and that means counterfeit money is a concern. So there are two government mandated electronic features on color laser copiers:
1) A serial number is embedded in every color copy. This is how professional photo studios can find out which copy shop is reproducing copyrighted family portraits, and also how the government catches some of the I.D. forgers out there.
2) Color recognition: The color of money is unique, and the copiers can identify it. Try to color copy a dollar bill, and all you get is a green and black blur. I work in the graphic arts industry, and I can tell you that is true of Canon as well as other brands of color copiers.
More side effects of smart guns? Well, more taxation, of course...maybe a "reprogramming tax" everytime you transfer ownership. An "air quality and noise pollution tax" every time a round is fired (they can track it now, you see).
And let's not forget the children. These new guns won't operate in school zones. And gun owning parents of school aged children will be listed on a public web site so parents can make a decision about whose house little Billy is allowed to play at. Side benefit of this one is that you can enjoy the icy stares of the other parents at the PTA meetings every time some thug gives the media a chance to sensationalize a shooting "Oh, you're one of THEM", they will say. The media doesn't influence our preferences? Buy some cigarettes and start puffing away at your next PTA meeting and you will see how influenced we are by what the media says is right or wrong.
And never mind that gun-banning celebrities like Rosie O'Donnell (Another Stakeout 2), and Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon, ad infinitum) still make movies glorifying violence while surrounding themselves with armed guards. But I digress.
Stay alert and question everything the government does. They take a dollar, and return 50 cents worth of service while restraining our liberties with every passing moment. Think of it as a chess game, and plan five moves ahead.
My father always said "When you see trouble coming, nip it in the bud"
Sound advice from a smart man.
------------------
[This message has been edited by Longshot (edited January 29, 2000).]