There were about 45,000 gun deaths in the United Sates last year, including 24,000 suicides and 19,000 murders. Of the murder victims, about 500 died in mass shootings. That is, mass shootings account for less than three percent of all killings. But their brutality and scale garners considerable media attention and calls to action.
Smart guns are a non starter. Guns currently have no batteries or power source other than gunpowder itself. They can be stored for long periods of time without requiring any intervention and be ready to go in an instant despite years of non-use. Requiring “charging” removes a huge amount of usefulness. Additionally, a truism of computer security is that all security guarantees are useless when the person has physical access to the computer. In other words, the security mechanism of a smart gun won’t survive an encounter with a person with physical access to the gun itself.
Rajiv thanks for the post and breakdown. I honestly had no idea that 380k guns per year were reported lost or stolen--I appreciate your breakdown of how the proposed package will address the interruption through federal funding of red flag laws. What do you feel, if anything, is missing from the proposed legislation that is realistic but could also prevent gun violence? Thanks for the post!
Smart guns are a non starter. Guns currently have no batteries or power source other than gunpowder itself. They can be stored for long periods of time without requiring any intervention and be ready to go in an instant despite years of non-use. Requiring “charging” removes a huge amount of usefulness. Additionally, a truism of computer security is that all security guarantees are useless when the person has physical access to the computer. In other words, the security mechanism of a smart gun won’t survive an encounter with a person with physical access to the gun itself.
Rajiv thanks for the post and breakdown. I honestly had no idea that 380k guns per year were reported lost or stolen--I appreciate your breakdown of how the proposed package will address the interruption through federal funding of red flag laws. What do you feel, if anything, is missing from the proposed legislation that is realistic but could also prevent gun violence? Thanks for the post!