Smart guns are a dumb idea. They always have been.

The theory has been—for at least fifty years—that technology could reliably incorporated into firearms that renders them inoperable for non-authorized users, while being utterly reliable for those authorized to use them. It’s a theory that has failed miserably in the real world time and again for a number of reasons both technological and practical, but in an attempt to divert an endless stream of government money into their pockets, the schemers just keep trying to push it:

Armitix, a German gun maker, announced that it had developed a smart gun with technology already approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) and would begin offering it for sale in the United States by the end of the year.

A second manufacturer, TriggerSmart, out of Limerick, Ireland, has developed an RFID chip that would be built into a gun’s grip; it would be triggered by a device the size of a grain of rice inside the owner’s ring or wristband. The company already has patented its invention worldwide and is seeking to license its technology to an American manufacturer. On its website the company explains:

TriggerSmart has developed a user unique, childproof, Smart Gun using RFID Technology. Only the authorized user … can fire the weapon. The Smart Gun will be harmless in the hands of a child or an intruder in the home. Our vision is to license our technology to gun manufacturers and sell Smart Guns principally to the USA gun market.

Another goal is to have a police department put our Smart Guns on trial and then to supply further Law Enforcement agencies, the Military, and the civilian market.

The second part of the childproof gun safety system is the ability to remotely disable guns in certain zones such as airports, schools, Universities and Government buildings etc. This aspect of the technology is called Wide Area Control or WAC.

It’s that “second part” that raised Gucciardi’s ire:

I believe that these smart guns will not simply be pushed by slick marketing via TriggerSmart and other invested corporations, but legislation that attempts to force these smart guns onto the American public….

As the creators of the Big Brother weapons have already detailed in interviews, the true power behind these RFID-controlled smart guns is the concept that they are a loophole that allows for the government to disarm the people while still “upholding” the Second Amendment.

In the event of a “terrorist attack” of any kind, the government could shut down all smart guns in the area. In the event of an elevated terror alert level, there go the guns. How about a mass shooting in your city? Better turn off the guns.

When the “slick marketing” by Armitix and TriggerSmart fails to persuade sufficient numbers of informed citizens to purchase their new high-tech weapons, there will no doubt be pressure “to protect the kids,” to create legislation to require citizens to replace their present weapons with the new safer ones that can be monitored, tracked, and controlled by the government. If successful, such a move would provide for instant disarmament without the messy necessity of actually confiscating weapons.

These manufacturers—like Colt, Mossberg, and Smith & Wesson before them—are creating a product that interests governments, not a freedom-loving citizenry.

The potential for abuse of such systems, particularly TriggerSmart’s “Wide Area Control,” is obvious. Governments would love to have the ability to “turn off” all guns in any area in which they decide to operate, ensuring that they have a monopoly of force, and that citizens have no choice but to comply with all of the government’s demands.

This is a technology for tyrants, and the “cure” for only one thing: liberty.