“German firearms manufacturer Armatix LLC is planning to release its second smart gun in the U.S. next year after sales of its first model — the .22 caliber iP1 — were quashed by pressure from some gun owners and gun rights advocates who saw it as a threat to Second Amendment freedoms,” computerworld.com reports. True story! And here’s why:
The New Jersey Childproof Handgun Law. The law mandates that the moment a “smart gun” is for available for sale anywhere in the U.S., New Jersey residents have three years to buy “dumb handguns” before they’re banned.
For some reason, no retailer wants to be “that guy” — the one that triggers the Garden State dumb gun ban. Something to do with a total boycott perhaps?
Anyway, notice the word “release” in the opening sentence. Not “sell.” Here’s Armatix’s new plan:
Prior to the release of the iP9, Armatix also plans to re-release its iP1 .22 caliber smart gun, though sales this time around will be focused on shooting ranges, where safety. The company plans to combine the iP1 with a new Target Response System it developed; that RFID-based system enables the gun to fire when it’s pointed at a target.
“There are 18,000 gun ranges in the U.S. You can imagine that’s going to keep us busy with our Target Response System. Retailers are interested in stocking it,” [Armatix CEO and president Wolfgang] Tweraser said.
I assume Wolfie means that U.S. retailers are interested in stocking the Target Response System, not the iP1. But maybe not. The computerworld.com article indicates that he has a complete lack of understanding of opposition to the Armatix gun.
Tweraser said the push back on the iP1 started because of the NRA.
This time around, Tweraser said he’s taking more time to properly educate sales staff, the public and lawmakers “that Armatix is not here to replace other guns.”
“When Tesla came on the market, I never heard them say, ‘Let’s replace the BMWs and Mercedes and only have electric cars,'” Tweraser said. “They offered a superior product that was more expensive and people said… ‘Yes, it’s more expensive, but I would like to have it.'”
Wrong. The NRA has publicly declared its support for “smart gun” development — while opposing “smart gun” mandates like New Jersey’s. And Armatix would replace other guns, at least in New Jersey, by law (a similar bill almost passed in Massachusetts).
Bottom line: Armatix’s failure in the U.S. market — past, present or future — isn’t about fear of foreign competition. And it isn’t about NRA intransigence. It’s about the protection of Americans’ natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear the arms of their choosing. And the fact that the iP1 sucks.