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“It’s time we use the power of [the] law to protect the health and safety of our citizens to do what Congress can’t—require gun manufacturers to utilize existing personalized gun technology for all new weapons sold in the Commonwealth.” – Massachusetts attorney general candidate Warren Tolman, What the Tech?: Warren Tolman Wants Guns to Have Fingerprint-Only Access [at bostonmagazine.com]

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64 COMMENTS

    • Bingo! Start with the Ahhficuhs. They’re the ones mostly likely to forget their heatah in the jahn.

    • Tolman ran for governor awhile back. Now he’s running for AG so our current AG can run for Governor. Every year more and more manufacturers refuse to do business in the Commonwealth and I don’t blame them. And that’s how Massachusetts gets guns out of the state – by restricting what we FFL’s are allowed to sell in MA. That’s right, you can own anything – you just can’t buy it.

    • Look at the the bio’s for the people running the company Gun Safety Tech. None of them have any background in firearms and the director says he started the company because of columbine, all their engineers have backgrounds in healthcare.

  1. Because cops like leaving them in bathrooms make the cops use fingerprint protected guns.

    What’s that? Not cool to negatively affect the reliability and function of law enforcement firearms? Didn’t think so. So why is it cool to affect mine? Oh, that’s right, I’m not a “highly trained only one.” What if I can prove to you my training far surpasses that of a typical beat cop? Why are your fingers in your ears?

  2. “It’s time we use the power of [the] law to protect the health and safety of our citizens, and seize all firearms and gunpowder stores at Concord Mass.”

    fixed that for you.

  3. Let’s be “sensible” about this and see if we can make this work. Maybe there could be some guidelines that we could all agree to live by:

    1. They must be 100% foolproof (they aren’t)
    2. They must be 100% tamper-proof (they aren’t)
    3. The batteries must last forever (they don’t)
    4. It must be able to be used by any member of my family (most have only 1 or 2 profiles)
    5. It must not impede in any way the speed of using the firearm (usually a lag time for recognition)

    That’s just my top 5 and they can’t address those issues yet. Come back when they are all fixed and then we can have “an intelligent debate” and an “open conversation” about these gun safety rules since after all….its for the children.

    Enough buzzwords in one paragraph there?

    • I’d shorten the list to “Must be at least as reliable at the rest of the firearm and ammunition.” As a defensive pistol, the Metal Storm pistol would be pretty sweet, but it’d need an exemption from the NFA to use the best features.

    • I don’t require nearly the kind of performance you demand. For me it’ll be enough when all law enforcement, including the secret service, adopts this technology at the insistence of their front-line members.

    • Heck, before they even adopt it for government agencies they should lead by example and make it a requirement for membership in their political party…

    • Including Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard.

      Then let’s see how well recruiting goes next year, and retention. Can’t wait until the SEALs get their hands on this stuff.

      When SEAL Team Six or Delta Force endorses this stuff, I might think about it.

  4. The comments under the article aren’t very flattering. Nice to see some sense in the commoners.

  5. Oh joy, a prospective AG that wants to change MA firearms regulations, sadly we’ve already had an AG do that through what amounts to regulatory fraud. Nothing like another pay-to play scheme to cap off an already limited selection in the market here.

    Here’s what we have had to deal with http://goal.org/regulationpages/fraudreport.html , I imagine it will be more of the same.

    • Skiballa , that’s very interesting reading. Makes me wish for a constitutional amendment requiring wiretaps of certain gov’t employees for future FOIA requests of prosecution.

      • I have deep roots, my family has lived here since 1630, we’ve weathered worse, I’m not going to pack up and run away now, it’s just not in my DNA. I’ll operate within the letter of the law until they make me a criminal, in the meantime, I’ll support GOAL, and continue to make my voice heard.

        • Correction : 1634

          And in other news the grassroots in the Commonwealth have managed to stall any knee-jerk legislation, which is a huge improvement over what has happened in recent history. We’ve had some pretty successful town hall hearings, and all legislation has gone back to committee, so we’ll have to keep an eye on what crops up next year.

        • Sorry, but that’s the dumbest reasoning for living a lower quality life. You do not have my sympathies and deserve whatever new anti-liberty legislation is passed in MA.

      • The “Northeast” is more than MA, CT and RI. It also has NH, VT and Maine. Not sure about Maine, but I know NH and VT have gun laws (or more specifically, lack thereof) on par or better than almost any other state. I am sure Maine is close to their level as well.

  6. This guy is a “Candidate” for Attorney General in Massachusetts. Bay Staters, you know what needs to be done.

  7. “Wait . . . hold on just a sec . . . I know when I yelled ‘GET OUT NOW OR I’LL SHOOT YOU’ there was an implied oral agreement, but you see I have to get this biometric lock thingy to actually work, and it’s a bit finicky. You understand don’t you, criminal? . . . . Of course, thank you for your patience. Now I guess I need to swipe my finger a little more slowly? No, that’s not it. What’s that you say? Try wetting the finger? Huh, weird but worth a shot . . . well what do you know, thanks for the help. Now, where were we? Oh yes, hands up please.”

  8. They should require shmucks like this to fingerprint lock their babymakers to stop them from breeding until determined safe by people of higher intellect and understanding, like me and you. Oh, would that violate your natural right to bring well-educated idiots into this world? Fascinating…

    • I am also a MA runaway, having escaped the liberal plantation around the same time and made it to Free America. I was getting tired of having my rights stepped on by these liberal bed-wetters. Low taxes, affordable housing (as in a real house) less intrusive government and the ability to freely own a firearm make liberals cringe…

  9. Anybody here have Dad’s or Grandpa’s S&W Model 15 or Remy 870 loaded up and ready to defend your home at a moment’s notice?
    An element of this ‘smart weapon’ or ‘user recognition’ concept is the fact that the gun you buy in year 20XX with the latest tech features will be in need of upgrades in 2 years and will be unusable 10 years later due to inevitable software obsolescense.
    The concept of having a viable family heirloom weapon will be gone.

    • Not at all. A licensed gunsmith will simply replace the entire electronics package for $599 plus tip.

      If this ever does come about on a generalized basis, there’ll be quite a black market for bypassing services.

      If the penalties for tampering are are too severe, shoot the bad guy with the doctored gun, then swap barrels with one that’s stock.

      ‘Course, that’ll never happen… >;{>

      • You go to fire your gun in that once in a lifetime critical situation and a message pops up: “Please wait while we update your software. You may need to reboot your gun when download is complete.”

  10. Guns right now are about the only thing left that is a purely mechanical device with no electronics in them. Well, other than toilets. And I am told Japan has toilets with a chip in them. Oh, and you can still get a purely mechanical wood stove.

  11. When did it happen? Somewhere, the majority of Massachusetts denizens interbred with lemmings, but I can’t really pin down when.

    Sad.

  12. “It’s time we use the power of [the] law to protect the health and safety of our citizens to do what Congress can’t—require automobile manufacturers to utilize existing hydrogen fuel cell technology for all new vehicles sold in the Commonwealth.” – Massachusetts attorney general candidate Warren Tolman, What the Tech?: Warren Tolman Wants All Cars to be Hydrogen Powered.”

    Yep, folks, it’s THAT stupid.

  13. I actually watched “Skyfall” the other night, the Bond film cited for showcasing the technology. Bond himself never uses the gun. The bad guy takes it from him before he gets to use it and after it doesn’t work the bad guy gets eaten by a Komodo Dragon (it’s a Bond film). Bond does not retrieve the gun and uses alternate firearms throughout the remainder of the movie. So while the movie shows us that it didn’t work for the bad guy, it also shows Bond had no use for the weapon either or he would have retrieved it.

    • Also, there’s apparently no concern about leaving it behind for anyone else to handle or walk off with. Technology will save us–discipline and personal responsibility are obsolete! 😉

      • That’s no concern at all. Removing the tech from a found gun is very easy. The recognition crap will only stop someone in the heat of the moment, any found/stolen/whatever gun a criminal comes into possession of can be made fully functional in short time. guns are very simple machines, removing added locks is easy in a relaxed environment.

  14. NJ has their smart gun law and now they want theirs. Ban on old stuff will soon follow. Think of the children.

  15. He wants finger print control of guns, and I want Jenifer Anniston to show up on my doorstep cold wet naked and scared. There’s 2 things that aren’t going to happen!

  16. Maine – especially Downeast Maine – is home to some rugged individuals. For most of them, law enforcement is at least a half hour drive away. Most have multiple firearms (New York libs would call “arsenal”). Don’t lock their doors. Distrust the govt. Take care of “problems” by themselves.

    Don’t confuse Maine with Massachussets.

  17. Just because I have been a benchrest/varmit rifle shooter and comp pistol shooter for 50 years doesn’t mean I understand how this technology could work.It means I understand how it can’t work.

    • And because reliable multi-shot firearms have been available since 1850 or so it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is a solution looking for a problem.

      Perhaps we should be working on FoF (Friend or Foe) technology like they use in fighter planes to avoid friendly fire. We could pass a law requiring bad guys to carry a transponder identifying them as felons and then make sure all firearms include a receiver that only allows them to fire when aimed at a BG transponder.

      Of course this will only work if it is mandatory to retrofit ALL firearms, including antiques.

    • He looks like a Colonel Klink wannabee. Perfect 1940’s fascist hair and glasses, nondescript face.

  18. MA is the last State that hasn’t had its go at gun control in 2013, because it is saving it for major fireworks in 2014 – they have no Jerry Brown to veto the worst stuff, and they are starting from a more advanced regulatory system than CA. All in all, no reason at all to doubt that it will be truly hideous.

    And, given that the current licensing regime in MA is suffocating as it is, it just proves that there is no end point in gun control, and no point at all in any compromising for the rest of us.

  19. I get so sick of this idiocy, new guns to have undeveloped technology with millions of guns already in circulation, life of a modern firearm could be hundreds of years. life of electronics about 10 max and batteries in months, how will this help? What if your wife or daughter needs to protect herself with your firearm? How will this work for the Police? Man is an idiot, he would be considered as such in the UK which is saying something!

  20. Remember, kids. Things are always regulated by people who couldn’t find their asshole with two hands and a flashlight.

  21. Sounds like he’s taking a page out the big O’s playbook. Tyranny at many levels guarantees success at the highest level.

  22. Even todays pistols, which are basic mechanical devices, fail. If mechanical firearms, which have hundreds of years of development, why the hell would I want some new electronic technology thats guaranteed to get me killed?
    Come back to me when this new tech is 200 years old and ask me again. Once it instantly bonds to my cyber arm i might consider it

  23. Mr. Tolman,
    You are the reason I will never live in MA. You are the reason why I visit MA as infrequently as possible. Keep trying to turn your citizens into subjects and see where it gets you.

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