Everybody has felt the gut wrenching emotion induced by news stories of children being shot. Whether suicide, accidental shooting, or school shooting these are tragedies that touch nearly everyone. This paper will examine a technology that many believe has the potential to drastically reduce incidents like the ones previously mentioned. This technology is popularly referred to as smart gun technology. Smart guns or personalized guns are guns designed to be fired only by the gun's owner. As such the gun would be useless in the hands children.
The Need for a Smart Gun
According to FBI statistics in 2005 twenty percent of cops shot in the line of duty were shot with their own gun, and there were twenty-four deaths resulting from school shootings (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/add info .htm). These statistics demonstrate some potential benefits of smart gun technology.
As stated in the introduction, a smart gun can only be operated by its legal owner, therefore they may reduce the likelihood of firearm injuries to young children and law enforcement officers. Police armed with a smart gun could never be shot by a criminal who had managed to wrestle their
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gun away from them. Since children cannot legally purchase
firearms they would not be able to accidentally discharge them or use them in school shootings. Firearms that were stolen would be useless.
How Smart Guns Operate
There are a number of technologies in existence that can be used to personalize guns. The simplest of these technologies are variations on the mechanical locks that are already in existence. Some of these smart locks require the owner to type in a code on a keypad to unlock the device, others use a fingerprint scanner to unlock the device.
The fingerprint scanner and keypad have also been integrated into the firearm instead of being located on a removable locking device. America's largest gun manufacturer, Smith & Wesson, has developed a prototype which only allows the magazine to be inserted after it has verified the owners thumbprint (http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/ 2000/May/263nij.htm). German manufacturer Sig Arms has a gun which requires the owner to type in the proper combination of numbers before the gun will activate (Gromer , 2003 p35).
Other technology that is currently being tested requires the gun owner to wear a ring, wristband, or watch which activates a computer within the gun allowing it to fire. Colt currently has a prototype which uses a ring or
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Over the last decade or so, the United States of America has been shaken by an epidemic of terrifying mass shootings, devastating slayings of unexpecting victims, and unnerving annihilations of the innocent. There is no specific target, no explicitly sought-out group, nor definite individual. From a classroom of first-graders, to a crowded movie theatre, to a U.S. Naval yard, the location seems at most, random, other than that it is almost always a public place. The perpetrators responsible for these horrific murders also vary, and often surprise those who thought they knew them. However, while the occurrences of mass shootings are unpredictable and always shocking, most have one thing in common: the use, or rather misuse, of assault weapons-automatic or semiautomatic military style rifles. To ensure the safety, security, and well-being of the people of the United States, the government should ban assault weapons.
School shootings have altered American history greatly over the past two decades. From 1997 to 2007, there have been more than 40 school shootings, resulting in over 70 deaths and many more injuries. School shoot-outs have been increasing in number dramatically in the past 20 years. There are no boundaries as to how old the child would be, or how many people they may kill or injure. At Mount Morris Township, Michigan, on February 29th, 2000, there was a 6 year old boy who shot and killed another 6 year old girl at the Buell Elementary School with a .32 caliber pistol. And although many shootings have occurred at High Schools or Middle Schools, having more guns on those campuses would not be a good environment for children to grow up in. However, on a college campus, the pupils attending are not children anymore; the age range is from 17 to mid 20’s. Therefore they understand the consequences associated to the use of weapons and have gained more maturity. In April 16th, 2007, at Blacksburg, Virginia, there was a shooting rampage enacted by Sung-Hui Cho (23 years, from Centreville, VA) who fired over 170 rounds, killing 32 victims, before taking his own life at the Virginia Tech campus. Colleges and Universities would be a much safer place, for student and teacher, if guns were permitted on campus for self-defense purposes.
Today in the United States many people argue over the fact of guns being legal or illegal. There are people using guns for personal safety and there are others who use them for crimes, as well as for other situations. Firearm deaths in the United States have slowly been decreasing from year to year with all these bills getting passed to promote a safer country than ever before. Guns are the main weapon for youth suicide, school shootings, and for committing murder. In 2010 there were 2,711 infants, child, and teenage firearm deaths. As in school shootings and in committing murder, studies show shooters often had multiple, non-automatic guns, shootings were planned, most youth tell before shooting, shooters have a history of being bullied or threatened, shooters have mental issues, and shooters have done suicidal gestures before (Gun Control with School Shootings). Although there are people who use guns for murdering, there are also those who oppose guns being used without the proper requirements. 85% of all respondents to the survey supporting requiring states to report people to national background-checks systems who are prohibited from owning gu...
Although most security measures passively make schools safer, it is not nearly enough to prevent an individual who intends on creating mass violence from completing his or her task. State representatives, national organizations, school staff, and parents need to come together to figure out the most reliable ways to prevent an active shooter situation from occurring in their schools. One solution that has been active is many schools have partnered with local law enforcement agencies to provide a police officers to patrol school grounds....
A New Jersey woman told police of how two men tried to open her front doors of her car at the same time. In the driver seat she reached for her gun, pulled it out and screamed. The two men fled the scene. “On Feb. 3, 1997 outside a bar in Mexico a female used a gun to stop a man from raping her" (Gale 88). A college park woman shot and killed an armed assailant who tried to car-jack her in her van with her 1 year old daughter inside. These and many other examples are of how and when handguns can save your life. Because people need handguns to protect themselves, the government should not place more restriction on them.
Through the year’s shootings have increased by a significant amount. Individuals are becoming affected on a regular basis and are concerned about there safety. Parents are worried for there youth getting assaulted, sexually violence, tormented, kidnaped, murdered on the other hand, now there ending up to be more stressed for there child getting shot. Guns have been around for hundredths of years, both world wars were succeeded with guns, hence, guns were served to defend its nation through history. In Western society citizens purchase guns for self preservation. Unfortunately, they are utilized in opposing ways, the majority of crimes are involved in gun shootings; this is an essential issue in America. Most agree that gun violence will have
After studying of the effects of the concealed handgun law, researchers concluded that after the first five years of the law, both robberies and rape declined by 1/10th, and murders decreased by just under 1/5th (Lott, “Carrying Concealed Weapons…”). Based on these statistics, the crime rate is greatly affected as more guns are added to the equation. As more civilians purchase guns, the amount of crimes have decreased immensely. By allowing guns to be sold to the general public, our country has become a safer place; guns in our society have not established a more dangerous world. Undeniably, by allowing more guns into circulation, the criminals are more likely to be turned off from committing crimes. For one well known example, New York City’s crime rate has dropped tremendously in the past few years. According to research, robbery decreased by more than half, aggravated assault by just under 40%, and rape has dwindled to a fraction of what it was before (Rosen). These numbers are mind blowing; they show that as more guns are distributed among the hands of the public, the streets of the city have become significantly safer. Thus, criminals have started to realize that their prey is no longer unarmed and is ready to protect themselves. By having such an abundance of armed people across the city, criminals have inversely been deterred from committing crimes. Although there has been roughly 700,000 crimes that involve guns (Connell), there has also been 2.5 million annual defensive gun cases that have been tossed aside (Lott, “Carrying Concealed Weapons…”). Each of these cases that have been ignored all involve guns which have been used to prevent
“Although the perpetrators of the school shootings at Littleton and other campuses have been surrounded by dangerous influences, such as television and the Internet, to which they do not know how to respond, they are responsible for their own behavior. The way to improve society is to improve individuals. Society, in particular parents, must take steps to ensure that children know the difference between right and wrong” (The Absence of Public Morality Causes School Shootings). While knowing the majority of shooters are strongly influenced by their surroundings, parents should be wise as to monitor what their children read, watch and view on the internet. The ability and ease to access a firearm should be sustained as well. Although guns will not directly harm anyone, if the weapon falls into the hands of an adolescent – whom has never handled a gun before – a very serious problem may arise. Parents need to learn to respect the age and development of their child and peach about gun safety, what is right and what is wrong, should their child start showing interest in
Many Americans are now applying for a license to carry licensed concealed arms with them. The rate at which licenses are being approved is worrying. This development is concerning law enforcement authorities. Putting so many firearms at the disposal of the public is counterproductive to the gains that are being made on improving security and especially in the cities where incidences of gun crime and violence are on the rise.
Gun violence in America is a public health crisis, which needs to be recognized and changed by legislatures, and the voting American. As conscious Americans, we need to vote for changes to gun laws that would improve background checks nation-wide, make firearm registration mandatory, restrict the sale of assault weapons and weapon modifications that give the shooter military-grade fire power, and invest in gun-safe technology and safe firearms storage designs. This type of technology will help prevent criminally oriented people from accessing guns, and will help prevent the accidental deaths of many children by guns. This essay will explain the reforms needed to help ensure Americans can still exercise their 2nd amendment right of owning firearms, and preventing the unnecessary deaths of many Americans at the same time.
“Once installed only an authorized user can fire the gun, preventing children and other unauthorized users from firing the gun” (Safe Gun Technology). In addition to the missing weapon problem, this feature of smart guns can also prevent situations like kids playing with guns owned by adults. It is true that kids should never have access to dangerous weapons like guns, but in the case that kids find guns and play with them without the permission of their guardians, “had Nancy Lanza owned a smart gun, perhaps she, her son and the 26 people he shot in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., might have lived” (Healy). There are countless incidents similar to the Sandy Hook Elementary School one, and most of these tragedies can be prevented by using smart guns instead of regular
Allowing teachers to carry guns could help lower school shootings. “While some believe tighter gun controls are the answer, others believe the best solution comes in giving more people — like teachers and administrators — more training and more access to firearms that can save lives as well as take them away” (Evensen guns and teachers). “Our organization
There are gun manufacturers who are developing guns to look more like toys, painting them in bright colors, tiny pink guns, guns with cartoon characters such as Hello Kitty and even a black handgun with an orange tip. Parents should not ignore that guns are a reality in today’s world but instead should educate their children on gun safety, provide a safe and loving home, limit their children’s exposure to television, discourage violence and keep an open dialogue about things their children have seen or
In conclusion technology is changing every day. Law enforcement has to keep up with the time. Some devices started back 1932 that I could find and they are on the rise as far as being in police cars. Most are expensive but worth the monies. The United States need technology devices to keep criminal activity down. Criminal activity is not dropping rapidly but it is decreasing slowly.
Advances in law enforcement technology are often divided into hard technology and soft technology. We often see hard technology placed to stop crime like the ever present security cameras, baggage screening, bullet proof windows, metal detectors, and security systems at businesses and homes. Additionally the utilization of private protection devices like mace, tasers, lifeline emergency devices, and ignition interlock systems with alcohol sensors to stop someone from starting a vehicle while intoxicated are seen. Technology advances being employed by law enforcement officers include new weapons, use of force instruments, enhanced patrol cars, and new police protecting gear. Soft technologies involve the strategic use of data to stop crime and to boost the performance of the police. Soft technology advances embody new classification systems, computer code programs, crime analysis techniques, and information sharing techniques. Though this listing of recent hard and soft technologies is not meant to be complete, we have a tendency to suspect...