Smart guns aren’t quite vaporware. After all, a handful do apparently exist, but they’re incredibly expensive and there are definite problems with concept as a whole. It’s why no gun company is pursuing the technology, after all. While some potential customers would love the idea of a firearm that couldn’t be fired if it was stolen, the truth is that such a weapon may not fire when you need it either, and that’s a problem.

Despite the many issues with smart guns, though, Democratic nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden continues to push this idea.

Presidential candidate Joe Biden has promised to introduce some of the most sweeping gun control legislation in recent history if elected in November, with the notion of “smart guns” at the center of his policy aimed at reducing firearm violence.

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According to Biden’s 2020 campaign website, gun violence is a “public health epidemic” – and he is committed to putting America “on the path to ensuring that 100% of firearms sold in America are smart guns.”

“Today, we have the technology to allow only authorized users to fire a gun. For example, existing smart gun technology requires a fingerprint match before use,” the initiative explains. “But, right now, the NRA and gun manufacturers are bullying firearms dealers who try to sell these guns. Biden will stand up against these bullying tactics and issue a call to action for gun manufacturers, dealers, and other public and private entities to take steps to accelerate our transition to smart guns.”

Except, well, that technology doesn’t actually exist.

Oh, we have technology that does essentially the same thing for a host of other devices, sure, but those are all electronics-based devices. They’re smart phones, tablets, laptops, and so on. They’re not firearms which currently have zero electronic components.

And honestly, the idea that the NRA is bullying dealers to not sell these guns is ridiculous.

See, first of all, even if the guns existed, they’d be expensive as hell and gun stores would have to purchase them first in the hopes that someone would want to buy it. Since most gun owners aren’t ready to trust a firearm with a new level of complexity–after all, complexity also introduces more potential points for something to go wrong–there’s just no reason to spend that kind of money.

The NRA and the gun industry doesn’t have to bully a soul.

Of course, Biden can’t sell smart guns to an ignorant electorate by being honest of why these guns aren’t for sale at their local gun store. He has to spin it to make it look like some evil conspiracy. It’s not.

And let’s also be real here:

Sources in the gun industry highlighted that such pivotal woes – hacking and glitches – was one of the key reasons “smart” technology hasn’t been created and applied to regular firearms use in the military or law enforcement.

“A big indicator that smart gun technology isn’t taking hold anytime soon is not being mandated for the military or law enforcement,” [founder of the D.C.-based Washington Public Relations and 2A advocate Phil] Watson said. “If these devices were actually practical, then every police department and military unit worldwide would be buying them.”

That’s an excellent point. Plus, let’s be honest, the firearm industry isn’t going to bully the military, now is it?

The truth is, this is yet another area where Biden doesn’t have a clue what they’re talking about.