#3. Bang Bang Bang

For those who own a gun, you’re going to love this! Technology and firearms.. Who would have thought? Apparently President Obama did, considering his announcement of trying to use his power to ‘jump-start long-stalled “smart-gun” technology that could allow only the owner of the firearm to use it’. This is type of technology would be incredibly powerful and definitely end the possibility of any type of attacks on *public places {Luby’s Cafeteria (October 16, 1991 Killeen, Texas), Inland Regional Center (December 2, 2015 San Bernardino, California), Fort Hood attack (November 5, 2009 Fort Hood, Texas) Colorado Movie Theatre (July 20, Aurora, Colorado)} or at schools {University of Texas clock tower shooting (August, 11, 1966 Austin, Texas), Columbine (April 20, 1999 Littleton Colorado), Virginia Tech Massacre (April 16, 2007  Blacksburg, Virginia),  Sandy Hook Elementary School (December 14, 2012 Newtown, Connecticut)}* and the theft of guns. There are various motivators for the production for this weapon, including the safety that it would include for children who might get a hold of the gun, due to the fact that it can only be ‘unlocked’ so to speak-by the owner of the gun, thus preventing the possibility of a child shooting themselves or others by accident. But something that is very controversial is also coming into play, through privacy, since “he also vowed to push ahead with a new federal policy giving the FBI access to more mental health records of some social security recipients to better flag people who might be banned from buying a gun.” Even taking to Facebook writing “as long as we’re got the technology to prevent a criminal from stealing and using your smartphone, then we should be able to prevent the wrong person from pulling a trigger on a gun.“ These steps are intended to start a series of movements that deal with firearms and the limitations/ control that they should have, something that Congress has been refusing to even look at or deal with. This group however, isn’t the only one who is protesting, since the words on Friday captured the attention of not only the National Rifle Association, but police groups as well who were worried about how well these guns would fare in real life situations. The way that this gun would work would be ‘through personalized identifiers like a biometric sensor on the gun grip, a ring sensor worn by the owner, or a digital passcode entered on a wristband.’ Though there are many more ideas to try out and many more steps to go through before there is even a prototype of this gun out for public view, it’s still a fascinating topic that will have many views in regards to how useful and effective it will be.

*For more information on the events and places listed above click here and here.