In 1999 Smith & Wesson started investing in trying to make smart guns following the Columbine high school massacre.
But the National Rifle Association accused the gun manufacturer of “selling out” and “craven self-interest,” and supporters boycotted the company.
In 2017 a hacker publicly demonstrated how to bypass the technology on a German weapon, which had been marketed as the first commercial smart gun.
The .22 caliber pistol was only supposed to shoot when linked to a radio signal from the owner’s watch.
But the hacker showed a conference of fellow hackers in Las Vegas how to block the safety technology using $15 worth of magnets, a piece of wood and a screw.
Another US company, SmartGunz, has said police forces are testing its RFID smart weapons.
The officer squeezes the grip and the weapon reads a chip in a glove on their hand to enable firing.
It has a police model for $1,795 and a civilian version for $2,195.
Another company called Biofire in Colorado is also developing a smart gun with a fingerprint reader.
However, sceptics contend that smart guns remain too risky for use by police, or for home defence by civilians.
Lawrence Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said: “If I had a nickel for every time in my career I heard somebody say they’re about to bring us a so-called smart gun on the market, I’d probably be retired now.”
At a recent demonstration the LodeStar smart gun was fired at a range for the company’s investors.
A Reuters journalist who watched reported that the weapon was discharged “without issue.”
According to Giffords, the campaign group led by former congresswoman and gun violence survivor Gabrielle Giffords, smart weapons could save lives.
The group said 380,000 guns are stolen each year, and up to 90 per cent of weapons used in school shootings, youth suicides, and unintentional shootings among children, are acquired from the homes of family or friends.
“However, the gun lobby has staunchly opposed development of gun safety technology, preventing it from becoming commercially available,” Giffords said.
Meanwhile, James Bond script writers have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to smart guns.
