What Is A Smart Gun? US DOJ Issues New Guidelines For Gunmakers

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has released the final version of voluntary guidelines for gun manufacturers that will regulate smart gun technology. The guidelines are a part of President Barack Obama's executive action passed in January, with the aim of curbing gun violence.

“This project was designed to spur the growth of enhanced gun safety technology - and not to mandate that any particular individual or law enforcement agency adopt the technology once developed,” the DOJ said Wednesday in an official blog post.

The baseline specifications for the guidelines were drafted by the National Institute of Justice — the DOJ's evaluation, research and development agency in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security. They include safety features such as rechargeable and replaceable batteries and a mechanism that links the gun to a smartwatch. If the gun is more than 10 meters from the smartwatch, it will not fire. This is expected to curb unauthorized use of guns.

Additionally, the order includes guidelines for gun manufacturers especially for manufacturing of government guns. It is aimed at creating a standard in gun manufacturing and filling up gaps in the existing firearm technology.

But, the National Rifle Association is up in arms against the move.

“Neither the president nor the agencies that actually mandated the adoption of the technology even committed themselves to giving the technology consideration for actual adoption, should a compliant version of it actually come to fruition. Any firearm that won't fire when it's needed just isn't 'smart,'" the organization said, adding: "Any 'security' system that defaults to turning itself off during a problem just isn't secure.”