Disguised as a way to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and children, comes new legislation once again in another attack on our 2nd Amendment rights. Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) was inspired by a scene in the popular James Bond flick, Skyfall. In a particular scene, Bond’s gun fell into the wrong hands. His gun was equipped with technology that would only recognize Bond as the owner so his life was spared when the gun failed to operate once it was turned on him. This was enough to drive the Democrat Senator to introduce new Bond -style legislation in the Left’s push for more gun control.

So what exactly is a smart gun and will it potentially help save lives? Markey seems to think so.

“… the [bill] will help ensure that only authorized users can operate handguns,” Markey stated. “This is the type of gun safety legislation that everyone, regardless of political party affiliation, should be able to support.”

The bill was introduced on Wednesday and would require that all new manufactured handguns have certain technology that would only operate by designated users. The gun manufacturers would have two years to comply after the bill is enacted. Some of the potential technology could involve the use of fingerprints or hand prints in order to identify the authorized user(s). Another form of technology being considered is a wrist watch that would not only give you the time, but would communicate with a designated owner’s gun in order for the gun to operate. Of course, along with this legislation, Markey included $10 million in his budget to be used for gun violence research. Remember that Obama lifted a  17 year-old ban on federal gun violence research last year and Markey claims that no funding is available for it.

So what does the NRA and other pro gun groups have to say about this? Of course we pro gun advocates can only imagine. How smart is this technology really? What kind of scenarios could potentially happen if a gun is limited to operate only to a designated owner? Surprisingly, the NRA is not opposed to smart gun technology. There is also technology available that would notify an owner if their gun has been moved from a designated area. That would allow for tracking in the event that their gun was stolen. I guess we could argue that if the gun was somehow stolen, that at the very least the designated owner would be free of any crime that their  gun could potentially be used for. But what other advantages would it really have? This technology may be somewhat appealing to many gun owners. However, the NRA made it clear that they will oppose a government mandate involving fingerprint or hand print technology.  In a statement on their website, the NRA said this:

“NRA recognizes that the “smart guns” issue surely has the potential to mesh with the anti-gunners agenda, opening the door to a ban on all guns that do not possess the government required technology.”

In other words, the smart gun technology may have its advantages as long as the government can keep it’s nose out of it.  If this legislation is mandated, somehow I think that, that will not be the case.  I’m not keen on the fingerprint part and would not want to be mandated to own a smart gun of any sort. The “watch” technology is skeptical as to what happens if the watch is stolen right along with the gun? Me personally would find it appealing to own a gun that would only allow me and my immediate family to be able to operate it. I would also like to be notified if my gun was removed from it’s current spot or was in the process of being stolen. However, I would like to be notified and given the opportunity to report it. I wouldn’t want Big Brother peeking in my underwear drawer making sure my gun is where it’s supposed to be. Besides, I would still want to keep my others. So as appealing as a smart gun may sound, a mandate is not the answer. Anytime the government mandates anything to do with the 2nd Amendment, then that is a clear indication that they are pushing for more ways to control our guns. You aren’t fooling us Markey. We are fully aware that your smart gun mandate legislation is not so smart after all.