New Jersey's War on Handguns
 

A thread named "Smart Guns" has stimulated a lively discussion which encompassed several issues, principal among them are questions about the Second Amendment, and the questionable reliability of the gun technology in extreme conditions.

The discussions included a link to an existing New Jersey law that specified: "...within a specified period of time after the date on which these new personalized handguns are deemed to be available for retail sales purposes, no other type of handgun shall be sold or offered for sale by any registered or licensed firearms dealer in this State."

P.L.2002, c.130 (S573 2R SCS)

In the smart gun thread it did not occur to anyone to point out the disastrous result of this law would have on the sales and profits of New Jersey gun stores.

Quite simply, as soon as one so-called smart gun goes on the retail market anywhere all handguns in a storeowner's inventory is unsellable contraband. In a large operation this could involve hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In effect, the retailer handgun trade in New Jersey will be wiped out. It is possible that within a few months there will be additional "smart guns" on the market but even then a "one size fits all" solution to gun safety will not stimulate gun sales. Retailers will experience a lower volume of sales.

A perhaps unintended consequence of this law might be that handguns already held in private hands in the state will have dramatic increases in value as a secondary market of private handgun sales develops.

Even when additional "smart guns" come on the market, most will be of a size that is not easily concealable. There is no way that any of the "smart gun" technology presently contemplated will fit into some of the palm-sized pocket handguns currently on the market.

See, for example the North American Arms revolver in .22 RFM caliber.

I grew up in NJ and still visit there quite often. The whole idea of smart guns is just as you said. They want to put gun shops out of business and further restrict the ownership of guns in NJ. NY is not far behind.

This law has been on the books since 2003. There have been heavyweight changes in the administration in New Jersey. Why has it not been repealed?

Carl, even when the smart guns can be downsized it won't take long for some high tech individuals to figure out how to add a wire or two to by pass it.

Once again, if it is such a bad law, and with the NRA having so much power, why has the current heavyweight administration in NJ not repealed it?

Politics........ Votes..........the ONLY priority of a politician.

Right or wrong or good or bad has nothing to do with ant issue!

It's tough to carry on a conversation when emotion gets in the way. It takes informed participants on each side of the controversy.

Please answer your questions for us so we know the right answer.

How many laws do you know that have been legislated and passed, but in reality don't work, nor provide the intended consequences? I can't count that high!

You hit the nail squarely on the head.

Bring on the Smart Guns! I don't even own a handgun now, but I sure would own a Smart Gun if it was available. I believe that it's law enforcement who really wants this to happen. Many officers are wounded or killed with their own firearm. Think of how many innocent children would be saved from accidental firings. Power down the testosterone and think of the good of the whole population.

Xavier

Here is a simple test I believe will always answer the question of is it a good idea or a bad idea. When something makes sense whether a law or a piece of technology and it really works, there are no exemptions! Smart Gun technology is about as worth while as the Ford Edsel.

Here is a link to the FBI page on officers killed in the line of duty. Its from 2011 but puts some facts to the subject of how many are killed with their own weapon:

FBI — Officers Feloniously Killed

Smart guns = smart phones. How many people put their entire lives on their smart phones.

That's like comparing an orange to a banana.

Here is another link to the FBI statistics on homicides for 2011. You will notice that the trend is downward. I wish I could find something a bit more recent.
FBI — Expanded Homicide Data Table 8

Just saying there has been some technology that has worked since the ill-fated Edsel was designed 50 years ago.