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OCR for page 1
Overview
On lune 2, 2002, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE)
convened a group of individuals in Washington, D.C., to discuss
owner-authorized handguns. Some 40 people with diverse back-
grounds took part in the one-day workshop (see Appendix A). This report
is a summary of the workshop discussions, which focused on three topics:
the state of the art of technology for creating owner-authorized handguns,
liability concerns affecting the development and use of such firearms, and
the potential impact of these devices on health and crime in the United
States (see Appendix B).
The National Academies, of which NAE is a part, are accustomed to
examining complex sometimes controversial issues at the intersection
of science, technology, and society. Owner-authorized handguns, often
called "smart" guns, have generated considerable public interest. The feasi-
bility and utility of smart firearms have been debated in a variety of
forums, but, for the most part, these discussions have not included the
. . .
engineering community.
The lune workshop, funded by NAE, was intended to set the stage for
a more in-depth examination of owner-authorized handguns. In December
2002, NAE received support from the David and Lucile Packard Founda-
tion to assess the technical feasibility of developing a reliable smart hand-
gun. The 12-month project, which began in summer 2003, will provide
1
1
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2
OWNER-AUTHORIZED HANDGUNS
cost and time estimates for bringing one or more smart-gun technologies to
the marketplace.
For the purposes of the lune 2002 workshop, an "owner-authorized
handgun" was defined as a firearm that would only function when operated
by the designated owner of the handgun. In retrospect, a better descriptor
might have been "user-authorized," since there are situations in which a
person other than the handgun owner might have a legitimate need to fire
the weapon. For example, more than one adult in a family might need
access to a handgun for purposes of home-defense; and in some police
departments, law enforcement personnel share firearms.
Whatever the terminology, owner-authorized handguns are meant to
prevent specific unintended or undesirable uses of handguns: accidental
shootings, usually by very young children; the shooting of police officers by
assailants using the officers' own weapons; suicides, especially by teenagers;
homicides by individuals using stolen handguns, guns purchased informally
("gray market" firearms), or guns sold illegally ("black market" firearms);
and other crimes, including robberies, committed with stolen handguns or
guns purchased on the gray or black market.
Simple methods of preventing guns from firing, such as grip safeties,
have been available for a century or more. Although the focus of the work-
shop was on high-tech approaches to preventing unauthorized use, the ap-
plication of certain low-tech solutions, such as trigger locks, could be an
effective deterrent in some situations. More sophisticated technologies have
only recently begun to be investigated. These include systems with elec-
tronic, magnetic, mechanical, radio, and sensor components, often in com-
bination. Access may be controlled based on something the gun owner
knows (e.g., a PIN code), something the owner possesses (e.g., a magnetic
ring), or something unique to the owner (e.g., a fingerprint).
As is true of technologies generally, whatever technology is contem-
plated for owner-authorized handguns will be imperfect. Every technology
has advantages and drawbacks and creates new, unanticipated problems.
No single technological approach is likely to satisfy the needs of all handgun
users. Police officers, for example, have different requirements for handguns
than typical homeowners trying to protect their families. By the same token,
the needs of these two groups differ from those of gun collectors and target
shooters. All users, however, appear to have a common interest in technology-
enhanced firearms that are as reliable and robust as traditional handguns.
No hard data are available about the amount of money being spent on
research and development (R&D) related to smart-handgun technologies.
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OVERVIEW
3
R&D by the gun industry is probably limited, however. For several years,
the federal government has supported a small amount of R&D on smart
handguns through a program at the National Institute of justice. And at
least one state, New lersey, has earmarked funds for smart-handgun re-
search at a state-run university. Taken together, these investments appear to
fall well short of the amount necessary to bring a technology to the com-
mercial marketplace in the near future.
Product liability will influence both the ability and the willingness of
gun makers to pursue the development of owner-authorized handguns.
Guns differ fundamentally from other products in that, in normal use, they
are intended to cause harm. Therefore, liability is limited to foreseeable,
"unintended" injuries caused by a defect in the firearm. Defects may result
from manufacturing flaws, design flaws, or a failure to provide adequate
warning of the risks of using the product.
The existence of a defect is based on the state of the art at the time the
product was manufactured. The challenge for the courts will be to deter-
mine the state of the art at a given point in time. If a technology for owner-
authorized handguns matures and is considered state of the art, it is pos-
sible that a gun manufacturer could be held liable for not incorporating it.
In such a climate, the threat of litigation could provide a strong incentive
for R&D and innovation. Gun makers who pursue smart-handgun tech-
nology might realize a competitive advantage over those who do not. Gun
makers who lag behind could risk being shut out of the marketplace.
Given the technical challenges of producing a reliable owner-authorized
firearm, however, the fear of litigation could also stifle innovation. Gun
makers have three not-mutually-exclusive avenues for addressing the liabil-
ity threat: creating the best design and warning possible; buying liability
insurance; or seeking protection from the government. Legislation now
working its way through Congress would prohibit civil liability actions
against gun manufacturers for damages resulting from the misuse of their
products. The bill provides no protection to gun makers for injuries caused
by defective products, however.
Every year, handguns kill and injure thousands of people and are used
in the commission of a variety of crimes. Policy makers at the state and
national levels, and the public, have focused on police officer gun takeaways
and accidental shootings involving children as the problems that can be
best addressed by owner-authorized handgun technology. However, these
two problems account for a small percentage of the deaths and injuries
caused by handguns. According to the FBI, between 1992 and 2001,
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4
OWNER-AUTHORIZED HANDGUNS
46 police officers were killed by service revolvers either their own or a
partner's in the hands of an adversary (FBI, 2001~. Fewer than 200 chil-
dren under age 20 were killed by unintentional discharges of firearms in
2000, the latest year for which there are data (NCHS, 2002~. In contrast,
of the 28,663 individuals killed by firearms in 2000,58 percent (16,586)
were suicides, and 38 percent (10,801) were murder victims.
Although most crimes are not committed with guns, the majority of
gun crimes are committed with handguns. According to the National Crime
Victimization Survey, perpetrators of nearly 90 percent of rapes and sexual
assaults, robberies, and aggravated assaults in 1993 used handguns in
committing their crimes (Zawitz, 1995~. Slightly more than half of the
roughly 500,000 guns stolen each year are handguns. A variety of studies
have shown that adult and juvenile offenders have stolen firearms or kept,
sold, or traded stolen firearms.
Smart-handgun technology could influence the diversion of firearms
from authorized to unauthorized users. Diversion occurs through transfers
within the home; seizures of handguns from victims by assailants; thefts
from homes, vehicles, and commercial locations; and transfers in so-called
secondary markets, such as "straw" purchases made on behalf of individuals
who cannot legally buy guns. Smart-handgun technology could make un-
authorized transfers difficult or unprofitable. Because there are some
70 million "dumb" handguns in circulation in the United States, the im-
pact of technology-enhanced firearms on suicide and homicide rates would
depend on their speed of market penetration. The ultimate size of the effect
would be influenced by the interplay of a variety of legal, behavioral, eco-
nomic, and other factors.
The availability of owner-authorized handguns could encourage some
people to purchase firearms who otherwise might not, thus increasing the
total number of handguns in circulation. The availability of firearms per-
ceived to be "safe" could also have the unintended effect of encouraging
people to use less stringent firearms storage practices. And because it might
be difficult to tell the difference visually between a technology-enhanced
handgun and a dumb handgun, the presence of smart handguns in the
home, for example could increase the risk of accidental discharges of
weapons mistaken for smart handguns.
Given the uncertainties involved and the absence of data, it is
impossible at this time to predict whether reliable owner-authorized hand-
guns would have an overall beneficial or detrimental effect, especially in the
short term. Despite this uncertainty and the current technical immaturity
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OVERVIEW
5
of these devices, the potential utility of owner-authorized handguns is
intriguing. Considerably more research in the laboratory and by social
scientists will be necessary to provide manufacturers, policy makers, and
the public with enough information to make informed decisions on this
. .
important topic.
OCR for page 6
Representative terms from entire chapter:
police officers
