Let me ask you ask a hypothetical question.

If you found yourself in a job where you ran the daily risk of running into gang members, domestic abusers, drug addicts, and other violent criminals, which of the following guns would you rather have in your hands?

Option 1: Armatix iP1

The Armatix iP1 is the most technologically advanced and viable “smart gun” in the world today.

The iP1 is chambered in .22LR, a rimfire cartridge suitable for marksmanship training and hunting squirrel-sized game. It boasts a ten-round magazine. It can only be fired when it is within 10 inches of the iW1 watch, and works about 90% of the time when fired in the same hand as you wear the iW1 watch. It will not fire at all if you move the iP1 gun more than ten inches away from the iW1 watch, such as when you shift the gun to your other hand. It will still fire in the hands of a criminal, as long as the watch is is close to the officer’s gun, such as in a struggle over the gun.

Did I forget to mention that the officer has to remember to punch in a PIN code into the watch every so many hours or the system shuts off, that it is battery-dependent, and fragile?

Option 2: CZ P01

Not very well known in the United States, the CZ P01 is a very capable traditional 9mm handgun designed for police use. It has 14-round magazines. It can be fired by either hand with no restrictions, and in testing, had only 7 stoppages in 15,000 rounds fired.

Let’s take a moment to remind you that the Armatix will have a stoppage every single time that you attempt to fire a one-handed shot with your non-watch hand.

So, which of these two handguns would you prefer if your life depended on it?

Yeah… it’s something of a no-brainer, isn’t it?

It should come as no surprise, then, that the only people in the world pushing for smart guns are those who hate guns and the people who use them.

You wanted to say something, Mr. President?

President Barack Obama is opening a new front in the gun control debate, readying a big push for so-called smart gun technology — an initiative that the gun lobby and law enforcement rank and file is already mobilizing against.

As early as Friday, Obama is set to formally release findings from the Defense, Justice and Homeland Security Departments on ways to spur the development of guns that can be fired only by their owner, according to industry and gun control sources. Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett is slated to preview the announcement for stakeholders on Thursday afternoon.

It’s an intensification of an effort kicked off in January, when Obama ordered federal agencies to explore such technology and report back, as part of his series of executive actions for “common sense” gun reforms.

While the “smart gun” element of the actions drew little attention earlier this year, critics are gearing up to fight back against the possibility that such guns could be required for government firearms purchases.

A source familiar with the plans said that type of mandate isn’t on tap right now, but critics are still worried the administration is laying the groundwork for such a move. Among the biggest skeptics are cops worried about testing an unproven technology on the streets.

“Police officers in general, federal officers in particular, shouldn’t be asked to be the guinea pigs in evaluating a firearm that nobody’s even seen yet,” said James Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police. “We have some very, very serious questions.”