This is the kind of news which makes anti-gunners’ heads explode. Which, is to say that this news actually makes sense. What’s the news? It is that Smith & Wesson are not going to manufacture “smart guns.”
Of course, anti-gunners are going to accuse Smith & Wesson of not caring about the children or other such nonsense, but the reality of the situation is that the economics of smart guns simply don’t make sense. In other words, nobody wants them, so it doesn’t make sense for the company to waste time and resources on smart guns when no one is interested in buying them. Stephen Gutowski gives us the details:
Smith & Wesson announced on Friday it will not pursue so-called smart guns or abandon any of its current product line despite pressure from a group of investors.
The declarations accompanied a reportprepared by the gun manufacturer’s parent company, American Outdoor Brands, on potential “reputational risk” associated with gun violence in the United States and efforts it was making to develop guns with electronic locks or GPS monitors. The company produced the report after a group of investors, who bought shares in the company with the express purpose of trying to change its internal policies, were able to win a vote forcing them to do so.
The report found customers don’t blame Smith & Wesson for criminal acts committed with firearms, that smart gun technology is “neither reliable nor commercially viable at this time,” and the company’s performance and reputation “are rooted in Smith & Wesson being a strong defender of the Second Amendment.” Instead of changing the company’s position, American Outdoor Brands said the report reaffirmed their current commitments.
Now, let’s be honest: Smith and Wesson are in business to make a profit. If people actually wanted to buy smart guns, then S & W would probably take a serious look about seeing if they can make money with them. But, if you waste money producing and marketing products that no one is going to buy, then you risk closing the company’s doors. No one working for S & W wants that, and S & W’s customers don’t want that. Neither do those customers want smart guns.
So, anti-gunners need to face the reality of the situation: give up on smart guns or find a way to create a real market for them (not an artificially created market created by passing laws). I’m not holding my breath for either of those choices anytime soon.